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FERRIDAY, La. — This will be an interesting week for Ferriday High School’s varsity football team as the Trojans play host to the Delhi Charter School Gators this Friday night at Melz Field for a few reasons.

First, this is the LHSAA District 2-2A opener for both Ferriday and district newcomer Delhi Charter. So getting that first district win will be important for both teams. Second, both teams come into this game undefeated at 3-0 overall. And third, this is also the Trojans’ homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Ferriday is coming off a 32-14 win over Delta Charter School in the inaugural “Battle of Ferriday” in which the Trojans pulled away in the second half. Delhi Charter scored late to fend off Jonesboro­-Hodge High School 26-20. The Trojans do have a few key players who got injured last week, but assistant coach DeVante Scott he expects at least two of those players to play Friday night.

“Got a couple of guys got rolled up on. One of our running backs, (senior) CJ Reed Jr., got horse-collared and got a high ankle sprain. We had an offensive lineman get rolled up on, (senior) Kobe Scott. We’re just going to rest them this week. We’ve got about four or five injuries,” coach Scott said.

So after playing a rivalry game and then having to prepare a district opponent for the first time and having to deal with the distractions that come with homecoming week, how does a head coach — especially a first-year head coach — and his staff keep their players focused on the task at hand?

Scott said, “It’s very important (to keep them focused). (Head) coach (Walter) Johnson, he always tells his team, he told me when I played for him, homecoming is just another game for us. Homecoming is not for the football team, it’s for the fans. It’s a distraction for the football team. It’s a big district game. They’re 3-0. We’re 3-0. It’s important to stay focused.

“Not to be focused on the homecoming events. We’ve got to focus on what we’ve done the past three weeks. That’s what coach Johnson preaches every week.”

As for what the main thing the Trojans will be focused on this week to get ready for a good Gators team, Scott said, “Conditioning. We outplayed a lot of our opponents because we can think. If you can’t think when you play, you can’t play. By the second half, they’re catching cramps and we’re not. Eighty-five percent of our practice is conditioning.”

And Ferriday will have to deal with sophomore running back Tayven Carter, who had 18 carries for 291 yards and three touchdowns in Delhi Charter’s win over Jonesboro-Hodge. Scott said it will be imperative for the Trojans’ defense to stop the run. He also said that the Gators’ offense is very similar to what Delta Charter ran last week.

“They’re physical up front and they run the ball. They’re going to try to do the same thing Delta Charter did.,” Scott said. “They have a physical offensive line. Our big task this week is stopping the run.”

As for what impresses the Trojans’ coaching staff about the Gators’ defense, Scott said, “They fly around to the ball. Jonesboro-Hodge caught them napping. They do come around the ball and hit you. Our offense, I’m not too worried about their defense. Our offense is us. We’re not going to change our offense for nobody. We’re trying to play what you can’t defend. If you can’t defend the pass, we’ll throw the ball. If you can’t defend the run, we’ll run the ball. Trying to find the weak spot in their defense.

Scott noted that Delhi Charter runs different formations on offense and a 4-man front on defense the majority of the time.

“They run the veer. Sometimes they run a double-wing, double-tight, or even the I-formation. They’ll throw it every now and then. Defense, they adjust to you from what I’ve seen on film. They run a 3-man front at times. They adjust to what you run,” Scott said.

Last week against Delta Charter, sophomore defensive back Andrew Foster had himself quite the performance with 10 ½ tackles, one interception, two pass break-ups, and one forced fumbles. But as Scott noted, that because the Trojans’ linebackers had too many missed tackles or were not where they needed to be. Scott said he does not expect Foster to have those kinds of stats this week, but he appreciated that kind of effort.

“He plays cornerback. He made up for the linebackers’ play. Our two linebackers, Lionel Scott Jr. and Marion Smith, they need to control the line of scrimmage and make the tackles. They need to fill gaps and tackles on their running backs. There’s a lot of pressure on them,” coach Scott said. “Offensively, we’re going to take whatever they give us.”

Scott also said that running backs Jerry Griffin, Taevion Edwards, Zylon Alexander, as well as Reed, if he plays, need to have big games as well as wide receivers Desmen Jefferson, Paityn Collins, and Robert Taylor. He also gave high praise to senior quarterback Caleb Ellis, who is off to an outstanding start to the 2024 season.

“He’s been playing great football. If he continues doing what he’s doing, we’re going to go a long way,” Scott said.