AMITE, La. — For the second year in a row, the Ferriday High School Trojans were one game away from playing in the LHSAA Class 2A State
Championship game. Unfortunately, just like in 2017, they were not able to get over that hump.

Amite High School senior quarterback Amani Gilmore, a verbal commit to the University of Kentucky, threw four touchdown passes as the No. 2
seed Warriors used a big second quarter to defeat No. 3 seed Ferriday 44-20 in the semifinals of the Class 2A State Playoffs.

“They’re a good team. They executed their game plan,” Trojans head coach Stanley Smith said. “We shot ourselves in the foot too many times and got behind early. Against good teams like that, you can’t do that.”

Ferriday blocked two punts – one with about 4 minutes to go in the first quarter and the other about midway through the fourth quarter – and neither time the Trojans were able to convert those opportunities into points.

The Trojans also picked off a pass by Gilmore late in the second quarter and had the ball at the Amite 31-yard line, only to lose eight yards in four downs. And as soon as Amite got the ball back, Gilmore went to work.

After a 51-yard pass got the Warriors down to the Trojans’ 10-yard line, he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute to go until halftime as they went into halftime with a 31-6 advantage.

That score capped off a 23-point second quarter for Amite that gave the Warriors all of the momentum.

“Had a lot of miscues. Bad snaps. Bobbled snaps. Ball goes over our head (on a punting situation) that gave them a safety,” Smith said. “I don’t think we were focused enough to seize the moment.”

As for Gilmore’s performance, Smith said, “He’s the real deal. He’s the captain of the ship. He made some heluva good throws.”

Ferriday sophomore running back Da’minya Milligan was held in check by a good Amite defense. He had seven carries for 35 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run with just under 4 minutes to go in the second quarter.

Trojans junior quarterback Kobe Dillon provided the majority of their offense in the game. He went 11-for-32 passing for 130 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had 14 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown. Both of those scores occurred in the fourth quarter.

Jamien Green had four catches for 51 yards while Tyus Turner had three receptions for 43 yards and one touchdown.

Amite (13-1) will take on No. 5 seed Welsh High School next Friday in the state title game at 12 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La.

Ferriday finished its season with a 10-4 record and will have a lot of players returning for the 2019 season.

“We lost a lot of seniors from last year’s team. To get back to the semifinals with a lot of underclassmen speaks volumes about our program,” Smith said.