Ferriday dominates Vidalia in Friday night downpour

Published 12:33 am Saturday, September 21, 2013

 Ferriday High School wide receiver A.C. Cummings looks for a hole to make his way through Vidalia High School defenders Friday night at Dee Faircloth Viking Stadium. (Justin Sellers \ The Natchez Democrat)

Ferriday High School wide receiver A.C. Cummings looks for a hole to make his way through Vidalia High School defenders Friday night at Dee Faircloth Viking Stadium. (Justin Sellers \ The Natchez Democrat)

VIDALIA — Ferriday High School (2-1) played resilient defense to shutout Vidalia High School (2-1) 40-0 in Viking territory Friday.

Though Ferriday dominated throughout the entire game, Trojan head coach Cleothis Cummings said he wasn’t pleased with the way his team played.

“We didn’t execute as well as we should, and the rain played a factor in that,” Cumming said. “We still have some work to do with our offensive line and our offense in general.”

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After a slow first quarter that left both teams scoreless, the Trojans picked up the slack in a big way with a quick score in the second quarter.

Vidalia running back Johnny Anderson tries to get downfield past Ferriday High School defensive back Jamarrius Sommersville. (Justin Sellers \ The Natchez Democrat)

Vidalia running back Johnny Anderson tries to get downfield past Ferriday High School defensive back Jamarrius Sommersville. (Justin Sellers \ The Natchez Democrat)

Quarterback Shannon Morales completed seven of 15 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns and Karl Hall rushed for 82 yards on just three carries, while Dontrell Domino added 53 yards.

Just eight seconds into the second quarter, Morales completed a 12-yard pass to Ronald Davis before Domino completed the two-point conversion to put Ferriday on top 8-0.

And Ferriday didn’t just score early, they scored often with 24 points in the second quarter.

At the 7:04 mark, Vidalia’s quarterback Jontarrius Townsend was sacked in the end zone by multiple Trojan uniforms to give them a 10-0 lead.

Just 10 seconds later, Hall rushed for a 55-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion failed.

It was a long second quarter for Vidalia, as Ferriday touched the end zone one more time when Domino rushed for a 12-yard touchdown to head into the locker room leading 24-0.

The Trojans cooled down offense in the second half but still manage to score twice without giving Vidalia any breathing room

Adrian Wiggins scored a 58-yard pass from Morales in the third quarter, with Domino completing the two-point conversion.

The fourth quarter was all Domino as he scored a 2-yard drive and the two-point conversion to make it 40-0.

Cummings said though his defense did a lot of positive things against Vidalia, it was all overshadowed by one mistake.

“We got an unsportsmanlike conduct, and that’s my pet peeve,” Cummings said. “We play with class and character. We don’t go out there to intimidate anybody. Once the whistle blows, there’s nothing else that needs to be said.”

Vidalia head coach Gary Parnham Jr., said his team just wasn’t ready to play.

“I didn’t have them prepared to play,” Parnham said. “Ferriday is a good football team. They have plenty of talent and plenty of speed. I just didn’t have them prepared to play against that.”

With Vidalia quarterback Jontarrius Townsend receiving most of the carries for the Vikings, Parnham said he is proud of his effort, but it takes more than one player to win the game.

“These guys played their hearts out,” he said. “Townsend has all the talent in the world, but we didn’t execute our blocking.”

As Vidalia’s winning streak came to a screeching halt, Parnham said the main focus is keeping his players’ energy high.

“I have to make sure we keep our heads up,” Parnham said. “The season is not over. We can come back from this, we just have to work harder, and we have to fight.”

The Vikings return to the field when they play Bolton High School at 7 p.m. Friday and Ferriday will return home to host Richwood High School at 7 p.m. Friday.