Ferriday

By Rick Breland

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ &8212; Friday&8217;s match-up between Ferriday and Sterlington was billed as a clash of titans, yet proved to be anything but one as the Trojans lost 41-21 at home in a game that wasn&8217;t as close as the score indicated.

&8220;They&8217;re a good team. We can&8217;t make up any excuses for having lost this game,&8221; Ferriday coach James McFarland said. &8220;When you play good teams, you have to play good and we didn&8217;t. We just have to learn from this one and move on.&8221;

From the onset of the game it appeared as though it would not be the Trojans night. Three times in the first half, Ferriday moved the ball into scoring position but was unable to convert any of their opportunities into points.

&8220;We just couldn&8217;t get anything going,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;We moved the ball up and down the field, but couldn&8217;t get anything out of it, whereas when Sterlington moved the ball, they scored.&8221;

Emblematic of the Trojans misfortunes was an early 33-yd touchdown pass on third-and-long that was called back due to a penalty. Ferriday failed to convert on fourth down.

&8220;That really hurt us and was bigger than the loss of the score,&8221; McFarland said.

While Ferriday&8217;s miscues kept the offensive unit stymied, Sterlington&8217;s offense performed like a well-oiled machine.

The Panther&8217;s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage allowing Panther backs Deshanti Mitchell and Jimmy Douglas to churn out big chunks of yards.

Mitchell finished the game with 146 yards and two touchdowns, while Douglas had 109 yards and two touchdowns.

&8220;We played well. The offensive line played good and gave us the holes we needed to move the ball,&8221; Sterlington coach Dell Ashley said. &8220;That was the really the key factor in the win for us.&8221;

Montario Tennessee provided the lone bright spot of the night for the Trojans as he rushed for 109 yards and scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.

Next week Ferriday travels to Madison Parrish for the start of the start of their district schedule.

&8220;They&8217;re a good team and we hadn&8217;t won there in a few years so it&8217;s a big game for us,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;It&8217;s also the start of district play for us, which makes it all the more important. We&8217;re really going to have to put our hard hats on and go to work.&8221;