NATCHEZ &045; Forget that No. 1 ranking.

It’s been more of a bulls-eye than a mark of recognition for the Trinity Episcopal Saints in MPSA Class A, and for three weeks they’ve fought off upstart teams in the playoffs who gave everything they had to knock off the top-ranked team in the state.

Fortunately for the Saints, they rose to the challenge in each game, made key plays late in the game and held on for three wins. Now they’re in the Class A state championship game against Heidelberg Academy scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday at Mississippi College in Clinton.

The 33-19 win over Tallulah Friday night at The Pit put the Saints into the title game for the second time in three years when they downed Wayne Academy, 14-7, in 2001. It also marked the last home game for a group of seniors that has been an integral part of the program’s success in recent seasons.

&uot;The emotion is these seniors realized this was the last time they’ll ever play here,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;It’s an emotional time, and that’s why they broke down. It’s an emotional time for me. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish over the years. I think the last time we’ve played here people saw a good group of kids go out here.&uot;

Friday’s game was awfully similar to the first two wins over Deer Creek and Glenbrook with Tallulah breaking some big plays and getting a break here and there to make a game out of it before the Saints held on at the end.

This time the Trojans cut the lead to 21-19 in the third quarter and on the verge of getting over the hump before two scores put the game out of reach.

&uot;We just challenged them at halftime,&uot; King said. &uot;We got a couple of quick scores. We challenged them, and they responded. Tallulah made some big plays at the end. You’ve got to give them credit. They didn’t give up.&uot;

BIG BREAKTHROUGH &045; The Saints were unable to break a big play with big weapon Dudley Guice Jr. with the pass, but they got the huge runs when late in the game to put the game away.

Gregory Ketchings, who has taken over the bulk of the rushing duties since Chase Brown injured a knee, had the biggest play of the game when he broke a 74-yard touchdown with 4:24 left in the contest to make it a two-touchdown game.

For the Trinity offensive line that was under-manned size-wise against a big Tallulah defensive front, Ketchings’ run was part of an effort that resulted in 451 yards rushing for the game.

&uot;Gregory is good,&uot; lineman Tres Atkins said. &uot;When he sees a hole, he takes it. It doesn’t matter if it’s five feet wide or two inches wide &045; he’ll take it. When knew they were big, but we knew we could knock them off the ball. Everybody they played were knocking them off the ball, and we knew we could. They’re big, but they’re not as quick as us. They’ve got some size, but we’ve got the quickness.&uot;

Gregory and Walt Ketchings found the holes in the offense and gained significant yardage. Walt Ketchings finished the first drive after Tallulah cut it to two for a touchdown, but the two combined for 344 yards in pounding away.

&uot;Both teams were playing for their lives, and you’re going to get big plays when you do that,&uot; King said. &uot;In the end I think we wore them down a little bit.&uot;

Some of that could be contributed to the presence of Guice on the outside, the 6-2 speedster who creates matchup problems for just about everyone in Class A. Guice finished the game with eight catches for 64 yards &045; the Saints had no other players catch a pass &045; while often catching in double coverage.

&uot;We’ve got two corners, and we made a decision early in the week we needed both for the job,&uot; Tallulah head coach Jacky Thames said. &uot;Guice made some plays, but I thought we did a tremendous job holding him down. Our entire defensive backfield did a really good job tonight.&uot;

STAY HOME &045; You can’t ask for a better situation, and the Saints were fortunate they didn’t have to play on the road for the playoffs this season.

It was basically the draw in the playoffs &045; the first round they hosted because they were the lower seed, the second round because Glenbrook was not a district champ and the third round because Trinity had played at Tallulah in the playoffs last year.

Had Tallulah lost to Claiborne Academy the week prior, the Saints would have traveled up to Homer, La., for the South State championship instead.

&uot;No doubt it was big,&uot; King said. &uot;I thought our crowd (Friday) was great. It was as intense a crowd I’ve seen since I’ve been here.&uot;

GETTING THE LAYOUT &045; The Vikings are headed for the Crescent City … but not for that.

Not yet anyway.

However, the way Vidalia is playing currently it might not be a bad idea to see how that new Louisiana Superdome turf feels.

After facing challenges with Block and Jena early in the year, the Vikings rolled through the regular season and continued their momentum in Friday’s 50-7 romp over Livonia in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.

No. 3 Vidalia loads the bus and heads for New Orleans this Friday for a Regional round matchup with No. 19 Redeemer-Seton, who easily disposed of No. 14 Oakdale, 42-18.

&uot;I hate New Orleans this time of the year,&uot; Viking head coach Dee Faircloth said.

When reminded that the Big Easy is where the state finals convene Faircloth joked: &uot;I guess we need to find out where we’re supposed to go down there.&uot;

While pundits and Vidalia fans might be penciling in the team for a Dec. 12 date in the Dome, coaches and players are taking a much safer approach.

&uot;It’d be nice if we can head to the Dome,&uot; said senior fullback Chris Williams, who was part of a typical Vidalia rushing barrage that pounded out 313 yards on just 29 carries Friday. But right now we’re trying to take it one quarter at a time. We want to be the quiet team that sneaks in there.&uot;

BREAKOUT GAME &045; There was nothing sneaky about Tony Hawkins Friday.

Livonia head coach Scott Allen said earlier in the week Hawkins was the weapon he feared most from the Vikes.

However, when the first whistle was blown, Vidalia’s running game of Williams and Michael Randall became the issue.

While Randall did pick up where he left off in the regular season with another 100-yard effort (9-107), including the Vikings last touchdown, Hawkins was the man to fear.

Hawkins played smart &045; avoiding the blitzes with screen passes &045; he played loose &045; he credited the line with not being touched once all night &045; and he played nearly infalliable &045; Hawkins had only four incompletions and no interceptions in 17 passing attempts.

&uot;When you’re that hot it’s like shooting in a basketball game,&uot; said the two-sport star, who helped lead the Vikings to the Top 28 as a point guard last year. &uot;When you’re hitting, it’s hard to stop.&uot;

SHOWERED WITH BOQUETS &045; Allen learned firsthand Friday what folks in the CENLA already knew.

It doesn’t get much better than this Viking team. With speed and strength, Faircloth has already called them the most sound team he’s ever coached in 36 years.

&uot;He’s got athletes all over the place,&uot; Allen said of Faircloth, who is in his 36th year at Vidalia. &uot;Coach Faircloth and his staff do a great job. I knew they were a good team, but not this good. If they don’t go all the way, they’re going to come close.&uot;

The Wildcats lone touchdown came with 7:28 in the final period when quarterback Jerrylee Scott found a streaking Matt Pourciau for 51 yards

Scott was elusive at times, but a one-man army won’t get you over the hill.

&uot;They put a lot of pressure on him and we didn’t have the guys on the line that could stop them,&uot; Allen said. &uot;It took him out of his game early.

&uot;I’ve played the Oak Groves, the Manys &045; I’ve played them all. By far, out of all of those, Vidalia is the best.&uot;

Sportswriter

Chuck Corder

contributed to this report.