ferriday — After rolling through Runnels School Friday, 63-49 Friday, Ferriday High School now shifts its focus to another Baton Rouge-based program — Episcopal High School.

This time for the Trojans, however, they will be on the road they get to set tangle with the Knights tonight in the second round of the LHSAA Class 2A boys playoffs.

“We expect a little better team than Runnels was,” Ferriday coach Kirfred Watkins said. “They are both in the same district, and (Episcopal) finished in first place in the district. We expect a little more aggressive team than Runnels.”

Episcopal (29-4) enters today’s contest fresh off a 63-51 win over Red River High School last, giving the Knights their 10th win in their last 11 games.

Ferriday (19-7) enters the showdown equally impressive recently, having secured wins in eight of its last nine contests.

“We’re going to have to play our game,” Watkins said. “We have to play a sound defensive game, and we have to shoot the ball well. I would say we have to shoot a higher percentage from the outside than what we’ve done the last two games.”

The Trojans also have the added benefit of the return of 6-foot-6 post player Dare Rosenthal. Rosenthal missed approximately three weeks of the season after leaving the school for IMG Academy in Florida before returning in mid-February. Rosenthal managed to record 10 points against Runnels in his return off the bench for Ferriday.

Rosenthal’s presence, paired with 6-foot-3 forward Dantrieze Scott, gives the Trojans two capable post scorers and a tall task for opposing teams to defend. Scott had 21 points and 16 rebounds in his team’s win over Runnels.

“They still have to play and be aggressive,” Watkins said of the duo. It’s no guarantee (success) just having them inside … We still have to maintain our dominance on the boards both offensively and defensively, and we need to make our free throws.

“I don’t see us changing our game plan or the way we play. I’m anticipating (Episcopal) sitting around trying to figure out how they are going to play against us just as much as we are anticipating in trying to figure out how we are going to play against them.”

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Episcopal.