Rick Breland and Tim Cottrell

The Natchez Democrat

The second weekend of Miss-Lou high school football provided some insight into, which local teams might be making a splash this post season.

Although it&8217;s far too early to say that the contenders have distinguished themselves from the pretenders, there are a few observations worth noting from this Friday&8217;s action.

The Saints (2-0) handed last year&8217;s state champion runner-up Copiah (0-2) a 42-7 lashing. While Stevan Ridley was stealing the headlines with his five-touchdown first half performance, it was the play of the Trinity defense and offensive line that went overlooked by most, yet deserved as much credit for the win as any other factor.

&8220;We have some veterans out there who did a really good job for us up front blocking,&8221; coach David King said. &8220;Defensively (Langdon) Morrison and (Blaine) Misita were able to apply pressure of the edge all night long.&8221;

The second half provided some of the duller football around with no points scored in 24 minutes, but credit coach King and his staff for showing some class and not running up the score.

Ferridayno one-man show

Not many people expected the Trojans to light up the scoreboard the way they did in their 45-6 victory over Mangham, including the Ferriday head coach James McFarland.

Coming into this game Mangham had been ranked near the top-ten in the state 2-A polls.

&8220;Well nobody told us about that,&8221; coach McFarland said. &8220;And if that&8217;s the case I hope nobody does.&8221;

While running back Montario Tennessee grabbed the top spot in the statistics, running back Matthew Smith was busy racking up over 100 yards rushing and receiving.

&8220;We had a number of guys who we spread the ball around to,&8221; Mcfarland said. &8220;Matthew Smith was one of those guys who came in and ran and caught the ball very well for us.&8221;

Block injuries appear not serious

The Block Bears found themselves shorthanded before their loss to Vidalia when quarterback Matt Green came down with a case of viral meningitis Thursday morning, forcing junior Evan White into an uncomfortable first start.

Bears head coach Scott Green said that while it may be a while, he expected his starting quarterback back on the field before the season ends.

&8220;We&8217;re going to have Matt at practice Tuesday,&8221; he said. &8220;He&8217;s probably not going to practice. I&8217;m going to treat him like he&8217;s not playing until I learn otherwise, but he&8217;s going to be back around this week.&8221;

During the course of the game, Charles Washington provided a scary moment as a stretcher came to the field to take him to a waiting ambulance. Green said it was nothing serious.

&8220;Charles wears a patch for high blood pressure,&8221; he said. &8220;He&8217;s got a few health problems, but he got a little dehydrated and I think he got scared and panicked and hyperventilated. He&8217;s going to be fine.&8221;

Jarae Collins suffered a minor shoulder injury, but is not expected to miss any playing time.&8221;

Vikings taking one step at a time

In the aftermath of Vidalia&8217;s impressive season-opening win over Block, head coach Dee Faircloth wanted to be sure his players didn&8217;t become complacent.

&8220;We&8217;ve still got plenty of work to do,&8221; he said after the game. &8220;We made a lot of mistakes.&8221;

He credited mistakes such as those made during the game for his current appearance after 38 years of roaming the sidelines.

&8220;Look at me,&8221; he said. &8220;I used to look like Ben Affleck. I had curly dark hair. You know what did it to me? Working with high school kids.&8221;

While Faircloth wasn&8217;t entirely pleased with the performance, manager Meagan Smith was.

&8220;I think this is the best we&8217;ve played in two seasons,&8221; she said just before the final seconds ticked off the clock. &8220;I&8217;m proud of them.&8221;