LAKE HAVASU CITY — The 33-0 win last week over Mohave County rival Kingman was big. But Fighting Knights head coach Karl Thompson doesn’t want it to become too big in the minds of his players.

David Bell/News-Herald Photo. Havasu’s Marcus Fortune (8) quarterbacks the scout team offense against starting defensive linemen Brandon Vedder (74) and Zach Davis (70) during practice Thursday. The Fighting Knights play host to Avondale La Joya tonight at 7 p.m.

“So far so good,” Thompson said during practice Thursday. “We talked with the boys about focus and the boys understand. They have to come out mentally prepared.”

Lake Havasu plays host to Avondale La Joya tonight at Lee Barnes Stadium.

The Fighting Lobos lost their season opener to Tempe Marcos de Niza, 57-7 last week but Thompson said his team wouldn’t take La Joya lightly.

“They’ve got some good skill position athletes and big men up front,” Thompson said. “So what we’ll try to do is bring pressure and force them to play what we want. But that’s no different from any game we’ve played in the last three years. The goal is always to try and dominate play.”

Statistics from the La Joya-Marcos de Niza game were not available.

Quarterback Paul Lake will once again lead the Knights’ offense. He went 8-of-15 for 93 yards against the Kingman Bulldogs last week. He also ran for 40 yards on eight rushing attempts.

The Knights had six runners see action in the backfield last week, combining for 250 yards. Mitchell Wegner scored twice while Max Delia, Max Dreager and Javaree Thompson each scored once.

Another six Knights caught 11 passes for a total of 130 yards.

“Defensively, we’re going to try and fill the gaps and we’ve been working on footwork and getting off the blocks quicker,” Thompson said.

Havasu’s Tyler Poggemeyer and Trent Schenone both recovered Kingman fumbles last week while Conner Dodds and R.J. Elizondo had one sack each.

Dreager led the team with nine tackles, followed by Dodds with eight, Ross Carlton with seven and Elizondo with six.

“We had some guys have breakout games, like Wegner who was playing his first full game at varsity. And Lake had a command of the offense,” Thompson said. “But this really is a team atmosphere and no one complains if they’re not getting a touch. They all know that the ultimate goal is to win the game.”

Tonight’s game starts at 7 p.m.