VIDALIA— With Hurricane Gustav finally out of the way, the Vidalia Vikings will look to get back into football mode when they face the Ouachita Christian Eagles at Dee Faircloth Viking Stadium this Friday.

Vidalia’s game against Block last Friday was cancelled due to the hurricane, and a lack of playing time and practice haven’t helped the Vikings at all.

“Being off last week has killed us,” Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said. “After three days you start to get out of shape.”

The Vikings got back to practice Saturday and are getting ready for this week’s game against LHSAA Class 1A power Ouachita Christian School out of Monroe.

The Eagles advanced to the state semi-finals last year before losing to West St. John.

They began this season with a bang as well, starting the year off with a 51-29 win over Mangham last Friday night.

“OCS has always been a good team,” Faircloth said. “They have an explosive offense and great receivers. They just have a lot of weapons.”

Ouachita defeated Vidalia in Monroe last year by a score of 15-12 and the Vikings are looking to avenge last year’s loss.

“Our seniors are showing good leadership,” Faircloth said. “I’m pleased with them.”

Faircloth also noted that in order for the Vikings to win, their offensive line has to step up.

“We need to block better and execute better on offense,” Faircloth said. “We were also out of position on some plays on defense.”

Viking quarterback Caleb Vines will start this week against the Eagles after suffering an injury to his Achilles tendon.

“Caleb’s Achilles tendon was stepped on in the Delhi Charter game so we just took him out to keep it from getting any worse,” Faircloth said.