Vidalia — The Vidalia High School Vikings may be short a head coach tonight when they host Ferriday High School.

Dee Faircloth, who has led the Vikings for 42 seasons, is feeling ill and has missed every Vikings practice this week.

Vidalia assistant coach Gary Parnham Jr. said while it’s not 100 percent certain Faircloth won’t be coaching tonight, it’s looking very likely that he’ll miss the game.

“I’m not really sure what kind of illness he’s dealing with, but I know he’s been feeling pretty bad,” Parnham said.

“I’ve been coaching with him for 16 years, and I played for him for four years, and I’ve never seen him miss a Friday night. I’ve seen him coach on crutches, but I’ve never seen him miss a game. It has to be pretty bad for him not to make a game.”

Parnham also said his absence makes the rest of the staff both realize just how much work Faircloth does for the team, and how much everyone should appreciate him.

“He does so much for the program in all aspects,” Parnham said. “Every time you drive by the school, you see his car in the parking lot. He’s always here.

“He handles a lot of the intricate details that a lot of observers don’t see. For that matter, a lot of us coaches don’t even see just how much stuff is taken care of by him.”

Parnham also said his coaches would be able to pick up the slack despite Faircloth’s absence putting the team in a slight bind.

“The coaches are well-trained,” Parnham said. “We’ve all either played for or coached with (Faircloth) for a long time.”

Faircloth could not be reached for comment Thursday. This is his second time to miss football-related activity this season.