Prep football previews: Vidalia ready for first football game of season

Published 10:14 pm Thursday, October 15, 2020

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VIDALIA — The Vidalia High School Vikings will finally hit the field Friday night when they play host to the Rayville High School Hornets at Dee Faircloth Viking Stadium in an LHSAA District 2-2A game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

This will be the head-coaching debut for Vidalia’s Michael Norris. This will also be the 2020 season opener as well as the district opener for the Vikings. They were supposed have started their season on Friday, Oct. 2 at Class 5A West Ouachita High School, but one player tested positive for COVID-19 the day before.

Not only was that game canceled, but so was Vidalia’s game at Class 3A Caldwell Parish High School. So now it’s a clean slate for the Vikings.

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“This group of kids have shown up for practice for 11 weeks without a game,” Norris said. “We were able to get things down. For the most part, the kids are excited about having a game this week.”

As for how practice has been going this week in preparing for a still-winless Rayville team, Norris said, “Practice has been going good. We’re just working on the things that we need to work on. Working on the execution on offense and our assignments on defense.”

Norris said that the keys to victory will be executing on offense and not turning the ball over. With cool weather expected Friday night, conditioning should not be too big of a concern.

“Conditioning is always a factor, but it shouldn’t be this week. That’s all we’ve been able to do — practice and conditioning.”

Rayville is 0-2 overall and 0-1 in district play after a tough 28-12 loss at home to defending Class 2A state champion Ferriday High School.

“They’ve always got some big guys and they’re very athletic. I expect them to have a lot of confidence against us and be athletic. They beat us last year (26-12 at Rayville),” Norris said.

As for standouts to watch for Vidalia, Norris said, “I really don’t know. Offense, everyone from the quarterback down to the left guard. Defensively, from the nose guard down to the free safety.”

There will be some fans in the stand for this game, but it will not be a full house.

“We can sell 500 tickets. My guess is we’ll sell most of those,” Norris said.

ACCS at Centreville Academy

CENTREVILLE — The Adams County Christian School Rebels will step out of MAIS District 3-5A play Friday night and will be on the road when they visit a Centreville Academy Tigers team that will look to snap a two-game losing streak.

ACCS, 6-2 overall, moved closer to clinching the District 3-5A championship with a 43-22 win at St. Aloysius High School while Centreville Academy dropped to 3-4 overall after being shut out at Cathedral High School 34-0. Both games were played last Thursday night due to Hurricane Delta.

Kickoff at Centreville Academy’s Tiger Stadium will be at 7 p.m.

Cathedral at Amite School Center

LIBERTY — Cathedral High School will look to extend its winning streak to three games in a row when it visits Amite School Center. Kickoff between the Green Wave and the reeling Rebels is slated for 7 p.m.

While Cathedral defeated Centreville Academy 34-0 to improve to 7-1 overall, Amite School Center is 2-4 overall and is on a four-game losing after being shut out by Parklane Academy 44-0 last Thursday night.

WCCA at Rebul Academy

LEARNED — The Wilkinson County Christian Academy Rams will look to remain undefeated this season as they visit the Rebul Academy Raiders in an MAIS 8-Man District 2-1A game Friday at 7 p.m.

WCCA improved to 7-0 overall with an impressive 35-16 win at home over previously-undefeated Tensas Academy. The Rams are 1-0 in district play and look to move one step closer to yet another district championship.

Rebul Academy is 0-7 overall and 0-1 in district play after losing at district foe Prentiss Christian School 52-6. The Raiders given up at least 36 points in each game and have only reached double-digit scoring just once themselves.

Delta Charter at Sicily Island

SICILY ISLAND — One team will finally notch its first win of the season while the other will remain winless when rivals Delta Charter School and Sicily Island High School face off in an LHSAA District 2-1A game at Sicily Island. Kickoff on Friday is at 7 p.m.

Both of these teams are 0-2 overall and 0-1 in district play. Delta Charter lost at home to district foe and defending Class 1A state champion Oak Grove High School 38-0. Sicily Island fell on the road to district opponent and defending Division IV state champion Ouachita Christian School 54-0.

Franklin County at Port Gibson

PORT GIBSON — The Franklin County High School Bulldogs will look to get back on track when it faces the Port Gibson High School Blue Waves Friday at 7 p.m. in an MHSAA Region 7-3A game.

Franklin County fell to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in region play after its offense was held to just 51 total yards and five first downs in an 18-6 loss at Hazlehurst High School last Thursday night. The one bright spot for the Bulldogs was a one-yard TD run by Parker Marcengill.

Port Gibson is 0-1 overall and 0-1 in region play. The Blue Waves had a bye last week after losing to Jefferson County High School 12-0 two weeks ago.

Wilkinson County at Hazlehurst

HAZLEHURST — The Wilkinson County High School Wildcats will have a short week of practice this week as they play on the road against the Hazlehurst High School Indians in an MHSAA Region 7-3A game at 7 p.m. Friday.

Wilkinson County had its homecoming game against Jefferson County High School last Thursday night postponed due to lightning from approaching thunderstorms associated with an outer band from Hurricane Delta. The Wildcats had a 14-6 halftime lead, but the game resumed last Monday afternoon and the Tigers rallied for a 28-20 win to drop the Wildcats to 0-2 overall and 0-2 in region play.

Hazlehurst improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in region play with its 18-6 over Franklin County.

Block at Bolton

ALEXANDRIA, La. — The Block High School Bears will be seeking their first win of the season Friday night, but it won’t be easy as they will take on the LHSAA Class 4A and undefeated Bolton High School Bears. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Block dropped to 0-2 overall after failing to hold on to a 24-14 lead at home against Bunkie High School as the Panthers reeled off 20 points in the fourth quarter for a 34-24 win. Bolton is 2-0 overall after a 50-14 win at Buckeye High School.