By MICHAEL KEREKES & JUSTIN WHITMORE

FERRIDAY — Offense was hard to come by on the ground for Ferriday High School Friday, and it didn’t help that starting quarterback Shannon Morales was sidelined, either.

Morales suffered a dislocated shoulder when the Trojans played at Natchez High School Sept. 1, forcing backup Ronald Davis to temporarily take the reins for Ferriday against Block High School Friday.

And despite a 21-6 loss, Davis didn’t do half bad, completing eight of 14 passes for 76 yards and one interception for the Trojans. Ferriday head coach Cleothis Cummings said he was pleased with how Davis stepped up.

“He’s young, but if we have to take our lumps with him right now, that’s what we’re going to do,” Cummings said. “He’s a very deserving kid, and we’re going to give him opportunities. We’re just going to have to rally around him and continue to push him.”

Block head coach Benny Vault Jr. credited his entire defense for the Bears’ victory, but he singled out right tackle Grant Meiling as an unsung hero.

“He had a rough week last week, and I rode him really hard,” Vault said. “I always tell him, you’re the biggest man on the field and everyone’s watching what you do. He came out this week and played a little bit more physical. As long as we can get him to that point, by the time we get to the playoffs, he’ll be a man.”

Meiling said he made an effort to improve after what he described as a lackluster performance against Vidalia High School a week earlier.

“I had been working on my blocking and all that (in practice), and I just had to improve on everything,” Meiling said. “I think I did pretty well, but I won’t know until I watch the game film.”

Cathedral High School

NATCHEZ — The Cathedral School offense put on a show Friday night at D’Evereux Stadium.

The Green Wave dominated the Resurrection Catholic school defense, especially in the running game, en route to a 48-12 victory.

Much of Cathedral’s offensive success came from huge plays on the ground in the first half. Running back Khalil Brice scored on runs of 49, 60 and 95 yards in the opening half, while Christian Jenkins scored on a 52-yard carry.

Head coach Ron Rushing credited a lot of the success Friday night to the great play of the offensive line, and junior offensive guard Ty Brown was the leader of the unit against Resurrection.

“Pound for pound, he’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached,” Rushing said. “We used him a lot to pull and trap. He’s undersized, but he does a great job.”

Brown said he takes pride in blocking for the skill players — the ones who end up getting the spotlight.

“I like to work behind the scenes,” he said.

Brown said it’s enough for him to get the opportunity to see a play work perfectly and watch one of his backs take off on a long run — like Brice did on the opening play of the game.

“The first play of the game we ran a power pull, and I got to watch Khalil burst through into the secondary,” Brown said. “Once he got through there, it felt great.”

Brown said the offensive line has a great relationship with Cathedral’s skill players.

“We have Khalil’s back,” he said. “The backs and the line are like a family. We take care of each other.”

Starting quarterback Thomas Garrity also credited the offensive line for giving him enough time to connect on 2-of-3 passes for two touchdowns in the game.