FERRIDAY, La. – There’s nothing uncommon about a high school team having to take a re-building year to work on basic skills and bring along new talent.

The injury-plagued Huntington Hounds are forced to use this week and Friday’s game at Riverdale for much the same reason.

&uot;It seems like we keep losing key players, and that throws a kink in our game plan,&uot; said Huntington head coach Gerald Reeves.

Injuries to running backs Luke Davis and Kenneth Clayton and to quarterback Barrett Arthur have forced Reeves to work some new people into practices this week, he said.

&uot;It’s been kind of a refresher course this week,&uot; he said. &uot;We’ve spent a lot less time scheming what they’re going to do, and worked more on what we want to do and tried to improve on those things.&uot;

Riverdale (0-6), a non-district opponent, seems a good team against which to work on fundamentals, Reeves said.

&uot;But we’re taking it seriously, like we should,&uot; he said. &uot;I can’t say anything derogatory about them. It seems like we only play a half sometimes.&uot;

The Hounds squandered an early lead and lost 62-32 last week to Wilkinson County Christian Academy.

Riverdale is a run-centered team led by 6-foot-3, 280-pound lineman Jason Bell and senior tailback Josh Huckabay, Reeves said.

&uot;They haven’t had much success scoring this year,&uot; Reeves said of the Rebels. &uot;I don’t think they’ve scored 15-16 points all year long.&uot;

Riverdale’s lack of offense should allow Huntington to work in some different people on defense, Reeves said, giving younger players experience and adding depth to the team’s roster.

&uot;We’re going to try to get healthy, get a win, and get ready for district play again next week,&uot; he said.