Fredonia wide receiver Jay Hawk is shown during last week’s game at Chautauqua Lake. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen

The game that many in the Dunkirk and Fredonia communities have been waiting for has finally arrived. Tonight, the Fredonia Hillbillies host the Dunkirk Marauders in a nonleague football game at the Orange Bowl.

The motivation is clear, but the Marauders might have a little bit extra to prove tonight after the way their season has unfolded.

Dunkirk enters tonight winless on the year at 0-7, while Fredonia comes in at 6-1 on the season. Still, the discrepancy in records doesn’t mean Fredonia’s coaching staff is taking Dunkirk lightly.

“Dunkirk is a lot better team than everybody says,” Fredonia head coach Greg Sherlock said after last week’s 35-8 victory over the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton Thunderbirds. “It’s a Dunkirk-Fredonia game. It’s going to be hard-hitting, it doesn’t matter what the records are. … They have always come to play against us.”

Sherlock told his team after the game how Dunkirk plays much better than its 0-7 record would indicate. Last week was a great example of that, as the Marauders held a 15-12 lead over Cheektowaga at halftime. The Marauders imploded in the second half to lead to a 42-21 defeat.

Dunkirk’s biggest obstacle this season has been itself. The Marauders have made mistakes at key points in games all year long, but were in a position to win many times this season. The Marauders had an opportunity to take the lead in the final moments of each of their first three games of the season, but lost three straight one-score games. Dunkirk was also within one possession at halftime against Albion, to go along with the halftime lead it held against Cheektowaga.

Fredonia, on the other hand, has not had the same difficulty closing out games. The Hillbillies have won decisively, with three straight wins of 15 points or more to begin the season. Fredonia beat Akron, Allegany-Limestone and Tonawanda. Then, in Week 4, the Hillbillies suffered their only defeat of the season 40-30 against Salamanca.

Rather than let the first regular-season defeat in multiple seasons rattle the Hillbillies, Fredonia instead responded with a 41-7 blowout of Silver Creek/Forestville on Homecoming, then won a thrilling overtime contest on the road at Southwestern 28-21. The 35-8 Fredonia victory in Mayville last week brings Fredonia into tonight on its second three-game win streak of the season.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Orange Bowl, weather permitting. If the field is unplayable, the game will likely be moved to Karl Hoeppner Field at Dunkirk High School.