OBSERVER File Photo Dunkirk’s Quantavius Kleckley runs outside during the Marauders’ Sept. 15 win over East Aurora-Holland.

The Dunkirk Marauders’ undefeated record could be in serious jeopardy tonight as they visit Southwestern.

“They’re a very, very talented team,” Marauders coach Mike Sarratori said. “They have probably the best quarterback in Western New York (Cole Snyder). They’re very fast, not overly big and they’re very, very young. They were undefeated until last week, when they lost to Cleveland Hill. They are ranked in Western New York and statewide. It’s a huge challenge.”

Asked which players on the Trojans offense besides Snyder he feared most after watching their game films, Sarratori said, “Numbers 8 (running back Brian Burns), 12 (wide receiver Derek Miller) and 24 (fullback Zishan Munir) — they spread these people out. They’re shotgun most of the night. They like to fling the ball around to these guys. It’s a big challenge to contain all that talent and speed.”

As for the Trojans’ defense, “They fly around the football,” Sarratori said. “They seem to have eight people making a tackle on every play. They just swarm the ball. They’re aggressive — they’ll come and hit you.”

Although Southwestern looks tough, Sarratori said Mother Nature could pose problems for them.

“One thing that will be in our advantage is the weather. It sounds crazy, but we run a power offense and they run a spread offense. With the rain that’s supposed to be coming in, that’ll play into our hands,” the coach said.

Sarratori also plans to stick to what has brought his team four wins, with no losses, so far this season.

“We want to keep the ball away from them, be methodical with it. Ball-control offense is our strength, and that’s one way we will try to slow them down a little bit,” he said.

To play a ball-control game, you need to play hard-nosed football near the line of scrimmage. Sarratori said he is focused on three players to help provide that tonight.

Those players are: big sophomore running back Tywon Wright, senior lineman Jamall Gaines and Conrad Thomas, a sophomore tight end.

“We need some great blocking,” Sarratori said.

The Dunkirk coach added the Trojans are “a very well coached team.” Their head coach is Jehuu Caulcrick, a refugee from Liberia who was a record-breaking running back at Clymer before moving on to Michigan State and several NFL teams, including a brief stint with the Bills.

Sarratori summed up tonight’s contest simply: “It’s two good teams looking to improve.”