The 4-0 Ferriday Trojans finally earned the respect they feel they deserve when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association ranked the team No. 10 among all 2A schools in the state.

Unfortunately, they also earned a giant bullseye.

&uot;Now everybody will be shooting to beat us,&uot; head coach James MacFarland said. &uot;We don’t need to give other teams another reason to beat us.&uot;

Another problem caused by breaking into the top 10 is motivating players, said senior linebacker Stanley Smith.

&uot;It was better not to be ranked. It gave us something to shoot for,&uot; he said.

Not that MacFarland isn’t pleased that his team was recognized.

&uot;It’s good to be ranked,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s good for the kids and good for the fans, but that’s about it.&uot;

Senior wide receiver Lawrence Washington thinks Ferriday deserves a much higher ranking.

&uot;Probably No. 1 or No. 2, depending on who won or lost ahead of us,&uot; he said.

&uot;To be ranked at No. 10 is an insult, really,&uot; MacFarland said. &uot;We’ve beat two 4A teams, a 3A team and a 2A team — handily.

&uot;But we won’t cry about that. We’re not big on crying here,&uot; he said.

The Trojans were ranked No. 15 last week, dropping a place from No. 14 the week before, despite a 36-0 win over Northeast.

&uot;I wouldn’t mind if they dropped us again,&uot; MacFarland said.

That won’t happen any time soon if Ferriday plays like they did last week, defeating 4A Marksville 28-19 without the aid of senior running back Corey Gordon.

Gordon missed last week’s game and is questionable for this week’s homecoming game against Winnsboro with a strained ligament in his knee. He has rushed for 560 yards and five touchdowns in three games.

All in all, MacFarland said, the mid-season rankings are unimportant when compared to who finishes first at the end of the season.

&uot;We’re not overly concerned with rankings,&uot; he said. &uot;We’re just going to keep playing hard and keep trying to win.&uot;