VIDALIA — The Vidalia High School Vikings will look to extend their winning streak to four in a row when they travel to Lake Providence, La. to take on the General Trass High School Panthers in an LHSAA District 2-2A game Friday at 7 p.m.

Vidalia is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in district play after off a hard-fought 8-0 homecoming win over Rayville High School. Despite the win, the Vikings actually dropped three spots in the Class 2A power ratings from No. 4 to No. 7.

Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said practice this week has not been focused on anything that General Trass is doing.

“Just trying to improve on the stuff we’re doing. Those things will take care of themselves,” Faircloth said. Like the Vikings red zone offense, which was just 1-for-6 on scoring opportunities when they were inside the Hornets’ 20-yard line.

General Trass dropped from No. 2 to No. 9 in the 2A power ratings after falling to Ferriday High School 36-0 last week. The Panthers fell to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in district play.
“They’re an athletic team, General Trass. They’ve got a good ball club,” Faircloth said. “They ran into a little bump in Ferriday. But they beat (Class 3A) Caldwell (Parish). So we know what they can do. Their quarterback is a tough one. He’s an outstanding player. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Fairlcoth said that the offensive line will need to have a big game for the Vikings to get a big district win on the road.

“We’ve got to block four our runners and our quarterback. They’re really going to have to go after it,” Faircloth said. “Our defense has been lights out the last few weeks and I hope that doesn’t change.”

Last year when these two teams battled in Vidalia, the Vikings came away with a 41-28 win over the Panthers.

“Last year was a tough ball game. So we expect the same thing this year,” Faircloth said.

Delhi High at Delta Charter

FERRIDAY — The Delta Charter School Storm will look to end a three-game losing streak Friday night, but it will not be easy when it plays host to the Delhi High School Bears in a District 2-1A game.

Kickoff between Delhi High and Delta Charter is set for 7 p.m. The Bears are coming off their first loss of the season after losing a high-scoring match-up at home to Ouachita Christian School 56-42. That loss put Delhi at No. 5 in the Class 1A power ratings.

The Storm is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in district play after a rough 44-6 loss on the road to Sicily Island High School. The setback dropped Delta Charter from No. 20 to No. 24 in the 1A power ratings.

But Delta Charter head coach Blake Wheeler said this is not a must-win situation for the Storm.

“I would say it would be great to win. It’s a tough district. I don’t want to put any undue pressure on our kids,” Wheeler said. “We had a letdown last week. Some of it was because of Sicily Island. They have a good team. We have to play better than that. I hope they come out and respond tomorrow.”

Wheeler said there is a lot about the Bears’ offense and defense that concerns him heading into this game.

“They’ve got playmakers all over the field. Coach Toriano (Williams) does a good job with the kids. He’s built a good program up there,” Wheeler said. “Explosive on offense. They have a really good quarterback. He’s got a lot of playmakers to get the ball to. They do a good job of spreading the field. Defensively, they’re very aggressive. The flow to the ball fast. They put you in a lot of bad situations on offense. They force you out of your comfort zone. You got to do a lot of things to beat those guys.”

Wheeler said that he hopes his players are up to the task and that they play with more passion than they did last week.

“We feel good about this game. It’s just a matter of getting out there and executing,” Wheeler said. “We have to do a better job executing what we do. We left a lot to be desired as far as execution. Step up with a fired-up passion.”

Ferriday at Denham Springs

FERRIDAY — Coming off a stunning shutout win in their homecoming game over LHSAA District 2-2A foe General Trass High School, the Ferriday High School Trojans will step out of district play this Friday at 7 p.m. when they travel to Denham Springs, La. to take on the Denham Springs High School Yellowjackets.

This will be the second straight season that Ferriday, 3-2 overall and the No. 2 team in the Class 2A power ratings, will play at Denham Springs, which is also 3-2 overall but is No. 25 in the Class 5A power ratings. Last year the Yellowjackets defeated the Trojans 43-28.

“It was a part of the deal before I got here, to play them at their place two years in a row,” Ferriday head coach Stanley Smith said. “It was because of the money and the chance to get power points.”

Last week, the Trojans took care of General Trass 36-0 thanks to a 222-yard, three-touchdown performance by Da’minya Milligan and a determined defense. The Yellowjackets are coming off a 31-27 loss at District 4-5A rival Live Oak High School.

“They have a lot of talent. They have more players. Being a 5A school, more players than us,” Smith said about what concerns him the most about Denham Springs. “They have a very good quarterback and a good passing game. Very disciplined on defense. They’re going to dress about 80 to 85 kids. We’re going to dress about 40.”

Smith added that the players have been very motivated and focused in practice this week after defeating a Panthers team that was No. 2 in the Class 2A power ratings.

“Make sure they take care of business. Taking care of the task,” Smith said. “Executing their assignments.”

While the Trojans’ offense will look to put up big numbers again this week, Smith said their defense will have to have a big game for them to pull off another win over a school from a much higher classification this season.

“Our defense has to show up. Our secondary and our linebackers,” Smith said. “They throw the ball around the yard. They run the ball, too. Our defense will have its work cut out for us. It’s going to be a challenge for them”

Sicily Island at St. Frederick

SICILY ISLAND — For the second time in three weeks, the Sicily Island High School Tigers will travel to Monroe, La. to take on a District 2-1A opponent. This time it’s the St. Frederick High School Warriors with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Friday.

Two weeks ago, controversy ensued when the scoreboard at Ouachita Christian School malfunctioned before the opening kickoff and did not come back on until after the game was over to show the final score — OCS 34, Sicily Island 14.

Sicily Island moved up five spots it the Class 1A power ratings after defeating rival Delta Charter School 44-6 and improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in district play. Tyreke Tolliver accounted for three touchdowns – two passing and one rushing – and three two-point conversion runs. Landrae James had two touchdown runs and Keonte Dunbar had two touchdown receptions.

The Tigers will face a St. Frederick team that will be trying to get back in the win column after being shut out at Oak Grove High School 34-0. That loss dropped them to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in district play. The Warriors are currently No. 8 in the Division IV power ratings.

Block at Northwood-Lena

JONESVILLE — The Block High School Bears have gotten off to a tough start to the 2018 season under new, and once again, head coach Bennie Vault Jr. They look for their first win of the season Friday night when they travel to Lena, La. to take on the Northwood-Lena High School Gators.

Kickoff between these two District 3-1A opponents is set for 7 p.m. Block fell to 0-5 overall after losing a good Class 2A Lakeside High School team 57-12 last week. The Bears are 0-1 in district play after falling to St. Mary’s High School two weeks ago.

Northwood-Lena is not much better at 1-3 overall and 0-1 in district play. The Gators last played on Sept. 21, a 40-7 loss to district opponent Logansport High School.

Block will be hoping to play as good as it did when these two teams faced each other in Jonesville, a 48-6 Bears victory.