Local teams begin final stretch run

Published 12:00 am Sunday, December 31, 2006

We learned quite a bit about our Miss-Lou teams over the last two or three weeks.

We learned Trinity is beatable, we learned that Natchez High isn&8217;t quite ready for the big-time just yet, we learned that Cathedral is quite a bit better than I have been giving them credit for and we learned that Ferriday and Huntington are the real deal.

This season has provided plenty of twists and turns, but perhaps the best example was this past Friday night.

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Natchez High came back home from a two-game road trip and promptly lost its third straight game in a blowout to Brandon.

Trinity came out flat and played poorly in its first loss of the season to Central Private. The Saints are now tied for third in the latest MPSA Class A polls from The Clarion-Ledger.

Ferriday went on the road and clobbered a team it had suffered an embarrassing setback to last season in Red River. The Trojans have flown under the radar a bit in the area, but may very well be the most complete team in the Miss-Lou.

Vidalia, on the other hand, went on the road and lost to a winless (at the time) Farmerville squad, 35-28. Head coach Dee Faircloth blamed a slew of costly errors for the loss, and the Vikings are fighting an uphill battle to get to the playoffs now.

The Cathedral Green Wave gave head coach Ken Beesley his 200th career coaching victory in a 41-21 win over Enterprise. The Green Wave have rebounded in a big way from the tough loss to St. Al to start the season, and now appear destined for a playoff spot.

The Huntington Hounds continue to cruise through their schedule, although Friday night should give us a good look at how good the Hounds may be when they host University Christian for homecoming.

After finally getting healthy, the ACCS Rebels put together their most impressive performance to date in a 34-7 victory over Franklin Academy last week. Friday night, things get quite a bit tougher when they host undefeated Brookhaven Academy. While a win there will be tough, I think the Rebels will get a road victory over Porters Chapel next week to send them to the MPSA playoffs.

It&8217;s hard to believe we only have four more weeks to go in the regular season, but there are plenty of storylines remaining.

Will Trinity rebound from its tough loss last week and finish strong? Who will win next week&8217;s Trinity-Huntington showdown? Can Natchez High right the ship and get in the playoffs? How far can Ferriday go in the playoffs, and do they have the talent to match up with John Curtis if the two were to meet? Can Vidalia make the playoffs?

All of these questions and more will be answered in the coming days and weeks, and I, for one, am pretty excited to see how it finishes out.

Tim Cottrell is the 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