VIDALIA, La. &045; It never gets old. At least to the parties involved.

Here we are on the final week of the regular season and cross-parish rivals Vidalia and Ferriday are battling it out for another district title.

Ho-hum? Not quite. As if any more fuel needed to be thrown onto this bed of sizzling coals, a playoff spot for Ferriday hangs in the balance when the ball is teed up at 7 p.m. tonight on Faircloth Drive.

While some service have the Trojans (4-5, 3-0 district 4-2A) in, they sit at No. 33 in the latest Louisiana High School Athletic Association power ratings, meaning they are currently on the outside looking in at one of the 32 postseason berths.

&uot;Our backs are up against a wall,&uot; Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. &uot;Looking at the (LHSAA) power ratings if we don’t win, we’re not in. We think that (the LHSAA ratings) are the ones they are going to go by. I thought we would be higher because in the five games we’ve lost four of those came against district champs.&uot;

For your ordinary teams that started their seasons off to a lethargic 1-5, just resting upon the bubble at this point would be an accomplishment.

But wake up. These are the Trojans. A team familiar with success. A team, which fell a couple steps shy of the Superdome last season.

&uot;The ball bounces a funny way in the playoffs,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;If we can get that opportunity anything can happen. The last four years we’ve done well. We think we can match up with anybody in (Class) 2A football.&uot;

Ferriday is accustomed to success, having been to the playoffs the last four seasons. Shelving the helmets, pads and unis until next summer leaves a bitter taste in every black-and-gold mouth.

&uot;We’ve gotten better from week to week. We still have some improving to do,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;We’re not where we want to be, but all in all we’re starting to play our game.&uot;

Thus, the Vidalia game could not come at a possible worst or best time.

The No. 1 Vikings (9-0, 3-0 4-2A) are not exactly the kind of team you want to be &uot;finding&uot; yourself against, especially with their propensity to light the scoreboard up.

Vidalia moved atop all of Class 2A Monday, after Rayville upset Sterlington &045; the previous No. 1 &045; last Friday.

&uot;We hadn’t mentioned it to the kids,&uot; Vikings head coach Dee Faircloth said of the top billing. &uot;It doesn’t mean anything. All it does is put a target on your backs. I wish we weren’t in it at all. I don’t like all that hype and all that.&uot;

What he does like, however, are results and a 19-game regular season winning streak is the kind of mustard you want on your hot dog.

The Vikes toyed with Crowville last Friday 57-0, as running back Michael Randall scored the game’s first three touchdowns on runs of 3 and 5, respectively, and a 40-yard reception from quarterback Tony Hawkins.

&uot;It’s going to take a yeoman’s effort,&uot; McFarland said of pulling out a win. &uot;(Vidalia) is a good football team all the way around. They’ve got a lot of veterans and speed at the skill positions. I don’t see a lot of weaknesses. I truly don’t.&uot;

As expected both coaches tried to downplay the importance of this game relative to bragging rights for another year.

They’re always classics, though. Flip the scrapbook back to last year’s 20-13 Vidalia victory in Ferriday.

Viking linebacker Matt Hinson corralled Trojan quarterback Tyrrence Taylor late in the game to give Faircloth his first undefeated season in more than 30 years of coaching.

Nearly a year to the date, he’ll try to go perfect a second time.

&uot;We’re not stressing this game of any more magnitude because we know we got another one next week,&uot; Faircloth said with a straight face. &uot;We’re taking the approach like every week. Once you get to that mountain it’s hard not to go to the valley the next week.&uot;

McFarland did his part by saying the game is not important because it’s Ferriday-Vidalia, but more so since it is a key district matchup.

The fifth-year head coach, who is 35-15 in leading the Trojans, knows if he wants to spoil Faircloth’s perfect party part deux, his team must be unblemished.

&uot;Any little let down they’ll capitalize on,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;In the few games that they got behind, they fought back hard to win. We know we’re going to be in for a battle.&uot;