As much as the Block Bears are playing up and playing tougher teams outside of District 4-A, sooner or later it’s going to pay off.

On the surface, it has in the shape of a 1-0 mark in district against a struggling Tallulah club. But the Bears have played three Class 3A programs and two 2As so far, and that ought to way significantly in both their power ratings system for the playoffs and for their own well-being.

The Bears play outside of the district tonight against Class 2A Lakeview at home as LHSAA action enters Week 7.

&uot;After it’s all over, I feel like it’s going to do us right,&uot; said Harkins, whose Bears are 3-3. &uot;Right now you’ve still got teams that are 6-0, and there are a lot of teams that started out 2-3 but played up. They’re fixing to start winning, and some of those teams that are 6-0 or 5-1 start losing. Some teams are going to play better to get better, and some teams are going to try to get wins. It’s going to help us with power points, but that’s not the only reason.&uot;

The other reasons being it helps sharpen up a club for a playoff run instead of merely winning the district. The Bears know a good bit about that after winning the district title last season and knocking off Haynesville in the first round of the playoffs before losing to powerhouse Kentwood.

This week’s contest is just the same in a Lakeview team that is 5-1 and played Class 4A Alexandria Senior High tough in a jamboree. The Gators beat District 4-1A member Newellton last week, 28-6.

&uot;I hope I’m not lying, but I feel confident in our kids right now,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;The last couple of weeks we’ve had some really good practices. The kids have really been focused. Maybe it took five games to get in shape. There have been remarks made that we weren’t in real good shape. No matter what you do, you’re not going to be in game shape until you’ve played a few games.&uot;

The Bears have done it so far with their power game, including a mammoth night last week in an 82-8 win where they ran for 443 yards and had a 62-8 lead at halftime. But the Gators (5-1) have plenty of speed to counter that on offense, and both sides are hoping to keep it from becoming a high-scoring affair.

&uot;As far as athletes, they have as many as anybody around,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;I’ve seen some of the teams they’ve played, and they’ve played pretty much all 1A schools. But they played Logansport. Any time you’re 5-1, that’s good. I like getting challenged, but I don’t like to come out on the wrong end.&uot;

McCall at Vidalia

The Vikings continue their run through District 4-2A after opening last week with a 56-0 win at Lake Providence. The win was their 16th straight regular season win.

The Dragons (2-4) played out of the district last week and lost to Benton, 38-28.

Ferriday at Rayville

It’s the Trojans’ turn to play out of the district, and they’ll do so after posting their most convincing win of the season Friday in a 54-0 blasting of Crowville.