FERRIDAY, La. &045; Did you see Ferriday skyrocket in the power ratings?

That’s what playing good teams will do for you, and beating them helps a little bit more. In a season of different scheduling for the Trojans when they didn’t schedule up in predistrict, things were looking good &045; as they should have.

But last week’s win over Class 3A Crowley was different.

Now the Trojans &045; No. 8 in the ratings &045;&160;are 4-0 and hosting another solid team in Red River tonight before wrapping up the predistrict next week at Sterlington as LHSAA schools in the Miss-Lou enter Week 6.

&8221;It’s always good to win, considering the two years we’ve been through,&8220; Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. &8221;That’s best thing for us &045; to come out winning like we are. Crowley was the best team we’ve played all year so far, and we’ve got Sterlington next week. We haven’t wont anything yet, and we know that.

&8221;But you know, we were going to play John Curtis. Who else can scare us?&8220;

No one, it’s worth mentioning, is scared at this particular point with the way things are going. The Trojans are off to their best start since a 6-0 start in the 2002 season and have a good deal of confidence heading into the final two games before district.

Particularly after Friday night, when the Trojans had to fight to get a 19-16 win over a Gents team that led most of the game.

&8221;They led us at halftime, and they took it to us in the first half,&8220; McFarland said. &8221;That was good. It was good to be in a game like that. It showed some character. We could have went in and started pointing the finger at everybody, but we didn’t do that.

&8221;The defense played well, but that win was a total team effort. We made some plays on both sides of the ball. A couple of my receivers made great catches. It was a team effort.&8220;

The Trojans had given up only one touchdown in the previous three games, and the defense showed its worth against Crowley. Yet the unit will be a bit banged up Friday tonight with tackle Darius Cain nursing a sore knee and end Trey Turner possibly unavailable after getting hurt against Crowley.

Red River will have a potent offensive attack tonight with a quarterback that McFarland said is their team’s best playmaker &045; and with the capabilities of the Trojans’ own quarterback, Terrance Johnson.

The Bulldogs are 3-2 so far with wins over Delhi Charter, Davidson and Rosepine.

&8221;Last year they were 8-2, and they didn’t lose a lot of people,&8220; McFarland said. &8221;They’ve got a good football team. Their quarterback seems to be their best athlete. He can hurt you out of the pocket. He can roll right or left and throw some strikes.

&8221;To be honest, he’s the best athlete and makes everybody go. It looks like offense is their best part. They’ve got a lot of kids going both ways, and we’re looking to exploit that. And it’s funny &045; we’ve been going both ways almost our whole lives.&8220;

A win would be another nice feather in the Trojans’ cap, although the big test doesn’t come until next week at Sterlington. It’s the final game before district starts when the Trojans host Madison Oct. 21.

Sterlington is 4-1 win its only loss coming to 4A Ouachita. Its wins have come over Oak Grove, Rayville and Franklin Parish.

&8221;Hopefully we don’t get any injuries,&8220; McFarland said. &8221;That’s one thing. Injuries can decimate us. We’ve got to just play well. It really would mean a whole lot. Right now we’re kind of on an emotional high. But we’ve had some of our biggest games on the road. We don’t mind that. Of course, you know, I’d rather play at home.&8220;

Block at LaSalle

JONESVILLE, La. &045; There shouldn’t ever come to a point where wins are coupled with yawns as they have been the last two years in district.

Things have changed. The Bears are pumped now after beating a good Mangham team last week for their first win of the season, and tonight is the opener of a new district for a team the last two years was just ready to put it in the books.

&8221;Everything is a little better,&8220; Block head coach Scott Green said. &8221;Our practices last week were a lot better, and we felt good all week. Mangham is a real good opponent. We knew they were pretty tough, and the boys finally decided to play. They played a great game, and their confidence is pretty high right now.&8220;

It helps to have that going into 3-1A action against a slew of unknowns. The last four years the Bears owned the district and flattened what the competition, only to be in for a rude awakening in the playoffs.

Coaches now see the glass half full, and the race starts tonight in Olla.

&8221;I think they’re excited about it,&8220; Green said. &8221;The district they’ve been in had really gone downhill. It just had become a district you didn’t want to be in. The district we’re going into is competitive from top to bottom. It’s a lot better competition toward the end of the year to get you ready for the playoffs. If we can get in, it’s a much better situation.&8220;

The Bears hope to have finally got things together with their new coaching staff and cast of new and returning players from a season ago. The biggest thing in the Mangham game was the offense finally limited its turnovers &045;&160;one fumble to Mangham’s three giveaways &045;&160;while moving the ball effectively.

Johnnie Lee rushed for 210 yards on 30 carries, and the double-wing offense finally showed what it’s capable of.

&8221;We’ve had the ability to play like that all along,&8220; Green said. &8221;I’m sure it was a confidence thing &045; getting to where they believed in us as a coaching staff. We were averaging eight fumbles a game, and last week we fumbled twice and lost one. That’s made all the difference in the world. (Lee) just ran hard all night. We rushed for 335 yards on what I thought was a very good defense.&8220;

Farmerville at Vidalia

VIDALIA, La. &045;&160;The Farmers come into the game with some confidence after posting their first win of the season last week over 3A Fair Park.

But don’t think they’re struggling. The losses have all come to established programs, including a 33-23 loss to Springhill and a 40-0 loss to 3A Mansfield. The Farmers showed in the Vidalia jamboree they have the potential to score points in their shotgun, spread-it-out offense.

The Vikings enter the game struggling defensively and are looking for their first win since beating Block in the season opener. The Vikings have yielded 141 points in the last three games, including 53 last week at home in a loss to Jena.

It’s the first of two non-district games for the Vikings heading into the 4-2A opener Oct. 21 at Lake Providence. They will travel to Ouachita Christian next week.