You could use many words to describe the slate of high school football games coming up over the next two days, but the best would be &8216;urgent.&8217;

Urgent because two area teams are fighting to gain entry into the playoffs.

Urgent because two more can clinch playoff spots with victories.

Urgent because the No. 1 and No. 2 teams are meeting in Natchez Friday night.

You might as well call it judgment week.

There has been plenty said already about Friday night&8217;s Trinity-Huntington match-up, but there are plenty of compelling storylines even without the &8220;game of the century.&8221;

Natchez High (5-3, 1-3 district) will travel to face Forest Hill in game two of their no-room-for-error four-game stretch to end the season. While a win over Forest Hill seems likely, nothing should be taken for granted as the Bulldogs must win out to get into the playoffs.

Cathedral (5-2. 5-1) can wrap up a playoff spot with a win at Salem tonight. The Green Wave have surprised several of us, but there is still more work to do. Not only is Cathedral almost a playoff shoo-in, they can host a playoff game with a few more wins.

Vidalia (2-5, 0-0) opens up district play Friday night on homecoming against Lake Providence with a simple mission: Win. Should the Vikings lose any of their next three games, the playoffs will start without them.

The ACCS Rebels (4-4, 2-1) are in a somewhat better position than originally thought &8212; their schedule has assured them a playoff spot. But a win Friday night at Porters Chapel would give the Rebels a home playoff game, and we all know how important that can be.

Ferriday (5-1, 0-0) finds itself in the most comfortable position heading into this weekend, as they are in pretty good shape in the power polls. As long as the Trojans take care of business over the next two weeks, their rivalry match-up with Vidalia should be a mere formality on their way to the LHSAA playoffs.

It&8217;s doubtful we&8217;ll have another week like this for a while. You obviously don&8217;t see very many No. 1 vs. No. 2 match-ups, and rarely see a week with so many crucial games when it comes to playoff positioning.

With so much good football to go along with the balloon race this weekend, the people of the Miss-Lou may find themselves tuckered out by mid-afternoon Saturday.

The key question is &8212; how many of our teams will still have playoff life at that point?

Tim Cottrell is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by phone at 601-445-3632 or by e-mail at

tim.cottrell@natchezdemocrat.com

.