Ferriday to host Vikings

Tance Hughes

Published Friday, September 19, 2008

Vidalia — The Ferriday Trojans have had three wins in a row against rival Vidalia, but the Vikings look to change things this year as they travel to Ferriday to take on the Trojans tonight at Melz Field.

Vidalia (0-1, 0-0) is coming off a 40-14 loss to Ouachita Christian while Ferriday (1-1, 0-0) is also coming off a 12-6 loss at Block.

“Our players have been focused well this week,” Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said. “This is one of the biggest rivalries in North Louisiana.”

The annual grudge match between these two teams is always a close one, with Ferriday taking the win over Vidalia last year 18-16 at Dee Faircloth Viking Stadium.

Faircloth said his team has been working hard in practice trying to solidify execution.

“We are still in jamboree mode after having that first week off,” Faircloth said. “We’ve swapped some players around on defense for this week.”

Something Faircloth also mentioned was the intensity he was expecting the Trojans to have when the game starts.

“The emotions will be high on both sides for the first few minutes,” Faircloth said. “Coach Harrison will have them ready to play.”

For Ferriday, getting back to the basics is what head coach Freddie Harrison said was most important.

“We are working on fundamentals,” Harrison said. “We have to be prepared to do the little things. We aren’t looking at this as a rivalry, I’m just talking wins and losses to my team. We’re working on improving our record.”

One thing Harrison is worried about is Viking tailback Kevin Johnson.

“He’s not really able to be stopped,” Harrison said. “We are hoping to contain him.”

If the Trojans want to keep their winning streak alive against the Vikings, they will have to play better on offense after last week’s lackluster showing against Block.