After last week’s 14-6 homecoming win over General Trass, Ferriday High School head coach Dwight Woods said he felt like his team played down to the level of competition.

The Trojans will not be able to play that way Friday night when they travel to Sterlington, La., to take on the Sterlington High School Panthers in a pivotal LHSAA District 2-2A game for both teams. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

“They’ve been running the same system for years. They’re always highly-ranked. Those things will always concern you,” Woods said.

Sterlington (5-2, 1-1) was ranked No. 5 in Class 2A a couple of weeks ago. But back-to-back losses to Loyola College Prep and Ouachita Christian have the Panthers unranked. They bounced back with a 35-12 win over Mangham last week.

Woods said that the defense is going to have to step up big time and limit not only the big-play capability of Sterlington, but also the number of points it scores. He added that the offense will have to play better than it did last week for Ferriday (5-2, 2-0) to pull off the upset.

“Our d-line and linebackers will have to set the tone early,” Woods said. “They make explosive plays with their fullback. Even their tailback has been running the ball well as of late.”

As to what impresses him the most about Sterlington, Woods said, “The way they play defense. The way they run the ball with the option. They’ve been running it for years. They’re always well-coached. They’re well disciplined. They are fundamentally sound.”

Woods said the key match-ups to watch for defensive will be the Trojans’ defensive line against the Panthers’ offensive line and offensively the Trojans’ receivers against the Panthers’ defensive backs.

“How disciplined we are. How we get off the line,” he said about the battle in the trenches. “I feel like our receivers have the advantage.”

Woods noted that the Trojans will have to play disciplined and fundamentally sound, as well as make the plays when they have to in order to beat Sterlington on the road.

“I think that will give us the opportunity to come out with a win. Play disciplined for every series and four downs in each series,” Woods said.