FERRIDAY &8212; Rivalry week is here, and the biggest rivalry of all will go down Friday night in Ferriday.

The Ferriday Trojans (7-1, 2-0 in district play) will host Vidalia (4-5, 2-0) in a game with multiple implications for both teams.

Both rivals come in tied for the district lead, with the winner taking the district title and an automatic playoff spot. Ferriday would most likely still make the playoffs with a loss, while Vidalia would find its season over if the Vikings are unable to take out the Trojans.

When you add all that to what is already a heated rivalry, things could get interesting, according to Ferriday head coach James McFarland.

&8220;Any time you mention Vidalia around here, people are ready to go,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;When you play your rival, tensions are high. Our level is already high. This should add some more to it.&8221;

Ferriday took last year&8217;s contest &8212; along with the district title &8212; by a score of 54-6.

That hasn&8217;t set well with the folks in Vidalia, and Viking head coach Dee Faircloth elected to not comment on the game.

One point of contention has been who has the best running back of the two teams. Ferriday&8217;s Montario Tennessee and Vidalia&8217;s Demack Bates have each put up huge numbers on the year, and McFarland feels he has the best of the two.

&8220;I feel like I have the best backs,&8221; McFarland said. &8220;If Demack was here he&8217;d have to play another position.&8221;

&8220;Everyone knows who the best back is,&8221; Bates said. &8220;His back is supposed to be a fullback.&8221;

As for the on-field aspect of the game, McFarland said his plan is to control the tempo and style of the game.

&8220;We&8217;re going to run the ball some and we&8217;ll throw the ball some,&8221; he said. &8220;We&8217;ll do just like we have all year. We&8217;ll let them decide which they want us to do more. They&8217;ve played a lot of man all year, so we might throw a little more than we have been the last few weeks.

&8220;Defensively, we&8217;re going to gear up to stop the run. We&8217;re going to try to make them beat us with the pass.&8221;

While tensions are always high in a rivalry such as this, McFarland said he holds no ill will towards his friends to the east.

&8220;I like Vidalia and Dee,&8221; he said. &8220;I want to see them do well every week but this one.&8221;

The Trojans and Vikings will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday in Ferriday.

Ringgold at Block

The Block Bears (0-9, 0-4 district) will get one last shot at a win as they close out their season at home Friday night.

The Bears will host district foe Ringgold (4-5, 2-2) at 7 p.m.XXXXXXX

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