people at

local shelters

By

ADAM DAIGLE

In some ways, there never was an off week.

Not for several schools in the Miss-Lou amid the ripple effects of Hurricane Katrina. While the MHSAA and MPSA didn’t play this week, folks like those at Natchez High still found a way to go to work without viewing any videotapes or focusing on an opponent.

The football office and locker rooms are part of the Steckler Multi-Purpose building on campus, and it’s there where some 200 evacuees are seeking shelter while being displaced from their homes in area ravaged by the hurricane.

So the Bulldogs are glad to help out.

&uot;We’ve pretty much opened our home to the evacuees,&uot; head coach Lance Reed said. &uot;We’ve opened it all up to them &045; our offices, locker rooms and our showers. They’re using them every day, and we’re working well together and scheduling practices and our times in the locker room around them. We don’t look at it as an inconvenience, and we want to work with them to get through this together.&uot;

It’s been a week of service for prep football teams in Natchez and the Miss-Lou, including trips to the various shelters in the city or doing jobs to help out in other areas.

The Bulldogs, like other teams in the area, have pitched in to help at the shelter at their office while other schools have delivered food and water, cleaned up and just were there to talk to people and provide comfort.

Several Adams Christian players brought water and supplies to First Baptist Church on Friday.

&uot;They carried to First Baptist Church because they had a lot of evacuees over there,&uot; Adams head coach Bobby Marks said. &uot;They’re trying to help, and I’m proud of them.&uot;

Cathedral had some players working at the shelter at Parkway Baptist Church and a handful of others cleaning up at Duncan Park’s golf course. The team had players Thursday at Parkway, while the school had cheerleaders meet with evacuees at Steckler.

Cathedral students are required to gain a number of service hours as part of their curriculum, and it gave the players a chance to do that and help out even more.

&uot;They were mopping that night and started about 11 o’clock,&uot; CHS assistant Ken Beesley Jr. said. &uot;They got through at about 3:30 (a.m.), they said. They were cleaning the kitchen and the bathrooms. That’s one thing about our kids &045; they’ll help.

&uot;Mr. (Marvin) Gray called us to help pick up limbs and stuff. He and his staff got the front nine cleaned up and needed help for the back nine. It helped him out a little bit, but I’m sure he’s still got a lot of work to do.&uot;

Trinity Episcopal had several of its players go to the shelters at Parkway and Steckler. Like Cathedral, Trinity’s students are required to gain service hours, but it helped them realize the scope of the situation from a first-hand perspective.

&uot;Most of our kids have been at Parkway all week,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;I think our kids took a bunch of little kids to Duncan Park to play. It’s the least we can do in this time of need. Our hearts go out to everyone. Football is a small thing, and I think our kids realize that after watching things on TV this week.&uot;

It’s helped players see the big picture. Beesley said Green Wave player Jamie Holloway and friends went to the Biloxi area &045; Holloway’s uncle is the mayor of Biloxi &045; and saw first-hand the devastation and effect it left on residents there who lost everything.

Then in the Bulldogs’ case, Thursday’s news hit even harder when they found out Jarred Ford, a 2005 Natchez High graduate and basketball standout, was killed in an automobile accident in Amite County.

Reed recalled Ford nearly suited up for football last season but decided to stick with basketball instead. The football team moved its practice this morning to the afternoon around 11 a.m. funeral services at Holy Family.

&uot;You won’t find a better kid,&uot; Reed said. &uot;It all kind of hit us hard. At Natchez High, everyone knows everyone. The athletes stick together. We look at it as one big family. It was a week of turmoil for us. You can’t take life for granted. This is a time when your faith really has to be strong.&uot;

BIG PLAY CONNECTION &045; The first time was just a step or two away from paydirt. So Ferriday tried it again: Terrance Johnson backpedaled in the pocket, heaved a long pass down field to see if speedy little Alonzo Booth could come up with it.

This time, he did.

It turned into a 77-yard touchdown pass on first down Friday night at Mangham, and it showed everyone there the two little guys in on the play can do it up big in a hurry.

&uot;That (miss) was the first part of the game, and we had to get him another ball,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;As long as it’s there, he’ll go get it. After practice, we work on that, and you can’t help but get better. I stay in the weight room and keep working out to get stronger and faster.&uot;

The two connected again on a 33-yard pass in the fourth quarter, but the drive ended in a fumble. But it proved to anyone there that Johnson &045; only 5-9 but with good quickness to run the option &045; has an arm and Booth &045; only 5-7 &045; can make plays.

&uot;Terrance is really coming into his own,&uot; Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. &uot;He’s done a good job the last two weeks, and I just hope it’ll continue. He’s got a lot of athletic ability, and we’re trying to utilize every bit of it.&uot;

NO TRAVEL THIS WEEK &045; Some Vidalia fans may have begun to worry about traffic congestion the state capital, considering the Vikings were scheduled to visit University High Friday.

Worry no more.

Vidalia coach Dee Faircloth confirmed the game has been moved to Vidalia. The Vikings offered to give University the gate, but the coaching staff of the two schools agreed to simply swap home dates.

That means Vidalia will visit University next season, a move that gives the Vikings six home games this season and only four in 2006.

&uot;We told them that was fine,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;Whatever we can do to help them, we’ll do it.&uot;

Vidalia could enter the game without starting quarterback Brandon Hawkins.

Hawkins, a sophomore, threw two first-half touchdowns in Friday’s 36-22 victory over Block, but he suffered a bruised hip midway through the third quarter.

DIFFERENT ROAD, SAME RESULT? &045; McFarland’s Trojans on Friday began a non-district schedule that’s starkly different from seasons past. He’s scheduled up and played teams like Class 4A Peabody, 1A power Oak Grove and a quality Northeast team.

This fall, however, things are different. Mangham was the first of four 1A opponents to start the season, although Week 4 is now an open date after Tallulah and McCall consolidated.

The Trojans face Block &045; a regular on the schedule &045; this week before traveling to Newellton in Week 3. They also face Lake Charles-Boston and Red River while tangling with a tough Sterlington Oct. 14.

&uot;We knew the last couple of years we may have over-scheduled ourselves,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;We kind of backed off of that. We got some people we felt we could compete against. Hopefully it won’t hurt us for the playoffs. But maybe it’s too early to talk about playoffs.&uot;

Correspondent Josh Bean contributed to this report.