VIDALIA — Last Friday, the Vidalia High School football players had their hearts broken in a key District 3-3A matchup against Bunkie High School.

Bunkie rode a late fourth-quarter touchdown to a 19-14 victory, leaving the Vikings’ playoff chances minimal at best.

Now, the Vidalia players will have to patch their hearts back together if they want to finish the season on a high note, and maybe catch a break here and there to sneak into a postseason spot.

“Crazier things have happened,” Vikings assistant coach Gary Parnham Jr. said. “Bunkie could lose both their remaining games. Bolton is playing much better.

“We still have something to play for. We can finish strong and prepare for next year.”

Still, Parnham said he knows just how important getting a win against Bunkie would have been for the team’s postseason chances.

“That was a key game for us to get back into the district race. Now, we’ve taken our chance out of our hands and put them into others’ hands.”

The bad news for Vidalia is that both remaining games are on the road. Winning both and hoping for a miracle would be a tall task for the Vikings’ players and coaches.

First up for Vidalia in the final two-game stretch is Marksville High School, and Parnham said the Tigers would play a very hard-nosed brand of football.

“They come at you at 90 to 100 mph,” Parnham said. “They have pretty good-sized linemen and a good running back. Their quarterback is the coach’s son, but we may or may not see him. He broke his fibula, and has only been spot-playing in throwing situations.”

Because of the somber feelings after the loss to Bunkie, Parnham said he would have to wait and see Friday whether or not his team can come back strong.

“I don’t know if we’ll get back up to play or not. We’ll find out Friday. It was a tough loss, and it depends on how we regroup. With kids, you don’t know what goes on in their heads a lot of times, so we’ll see.”

In addition to picking themselves up, Parnham said a key for the Vidalia players Friday would be how well they can contain the Tigers’ running game.

“We have to play sound fundamentally and wrap their running back up,” Parnham said. “We also have to execute our game plan offensively and put our kids in the right situations.”

Kickoff for Vidalia’s (3-5, 2-2) game is 7 p.m. Friday.