VIDALIA &8212; Give him credit &8212; even through a season that&8217;s among the worst Vidalia has ever had, head coach Dee Faircloth still has high hopes for his team.

&8220;The funny thing is, this team could still make the playoffs,&8221; Faircloth said. &8220;The district champions go no matter what. Of course, I think Ferriday and Madison will have a lot to say about that.&8221;

Faircloth&8217;s Vikings, coming off a 40-32 win over Lake Providence to open district play, are tied with Ferriday for the district lead coming into tonight&8217;s showdown with Madison.

Like many in District 4-2A, Faircloth doesn&8217;t think of tonight&8217;s opponent as Madison &8212; nope, it&8217;s still McCall &8212; particularly given that the Jaguars are composed nearly entirely of players that were on McCall&8217;s team last season.

&8220;We&8217;ve had some real helmet-busters with them over the years,&8221; Faircloth said.

The key to shutting down Madison will be stopping Cody Atkins, the running back/wide receiver/tight end/quarterback/kick returner/kicker for the Jaguars, Faircloth said.

&8220;I think he drives the bus too,&8221; Faircloth said. &8220;He was the player of the year in the district last year as a sophomore. I told my players, &8216;Everywhere you go you look for Cody.&8217;&8221;

At practice Thursday afternoon, that was obvious. Viking players reminded each other continually to watch for No. 1 &8212; Atkins&8217; jersey number.

Ferriday at Lake Providence

The Trojans are on a roll. Now the hard part is making sure they stay that way.

With a 1-0 record in district play after a 36-0 stomping of Madison, Trojans head coach James McFarland is happy with where his team is, he said. But he&8217;s also worried about where they&8217;re going.

&8220;Practice has been good. We&8217;re just trying to keep out eyes on what we have to do,&8221; McFarland said.

Ferriday is at a point the Trojans haven&8217;t been in a few seasons, with a 6-2 record and a virtual lock on the playoffs. McFarland said it&8217;s made a difference in the way his team approaches practice and games.

&8220;It&8217;s been a while since we&8217;ve been in the running this late in the season and it feels good,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;Winning helps, but there&8217;s a lot of other things that have gone into this season for us.&8221;

But Lake Providence isn&8217;t going to roll over just because of his team&8217;s record, McFarland said.

&8220;They have nothing to lose so we&8217;re expecting anything,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;That makes them more deadly. It should be a good battle. To get us would probably be the highlight of their season.&8221;

Montgomery at Block

Block, coming off an 18-16 loss to Northwood Lena, takes on Montgomery looking to right the ship.