It wasn’t enough that two days prior to the opening of the boys’ playoffs, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association finally released the pairings.

Late Thursday, Ferriday head coach James Davis learned that Christian Life Academy, the Trojans’ first-round opponent scheduled for today, had been removed from the playoffs due to several ineligible players.

Ferriday, the runner-up to Vidalia in District 4-2A, gets a bye into the second round of the Class 2A playoffs and awaits the winner of the Rayville-Jonesboro Hodge contest to be held in Rayville, La., tonight.

&uot;It was devastating news,&uot; Davis said. &uot;We had practiced all week, and then to hear about it the day before the game, it was hard. The flip side to it is we move on. That’s water under the bridge for us.&uot;

The Trojans, making the first appearance in the postseason since 2002’s Top 28 appearance, will host Rayville if the Hornets prevail tonight over the Cowboys.

Davis talked to CLA head coach Todd Foster on Thursday to organize officials and other particulars and was ready to host the Crusaders, the District 8-2A runner-up, before he was notified of his opponent’s dismissal for using unregistered foreign exchange students.

&uot;(Foster) did not fill out the proper forms,&uot; LHSAA assistant commissioner Mac Chauvin told The Democrat late Thursday. &uot;They thought they had them registered, but they weren’t.&uot;

The eligibilities of three integral Crusaders came into question at an emergency Thursday meeting, in which Class B’s Reserve Christian was also disqualified for similar reasons.

&uot;We’re going to present 10 pages of documentation,&uot; Foster told The (Baton Rouge) Advocate Wednesday. &uot;In my years of coaching, this is the first time I’ve been investigated and it blows me away. What I think you’ll find is the status of the three young men we have are grossly misrepresented by one person in the foreign exchange program.&uot;

The LHSAA felt otherwise.

Davis said he and an assistant would travel to Rayville tonight to scout both teams. Ferriday has a bit of familiarity with the Hornets, which were a part of District 3-2A with the Trojans and Vidalia last season.

&uot;We do want a home game. We’re pulling for Rayville,&uot; Davis said. &uot;It’s hard to win on the road in the playoffs. Either way, though, we’re pleased we’re going on and we’ll get ready to play.&uot;

Davis said his team was stunned and frustrated when he broke the news to them at a Thursday evening tune-up practice.

The undersized Trojans were looking forward to designing a scheme to stop the Crusaders, who had exceptional size in the frontcourt with players 6-8 and 6-5.

&uot;It’s disappointing because we hadn’t played all week and they were eager to get out there,&uot; Davis said. &uot;Looking at it from a different standpoint, we’re going on to the next round.&uot;

Christian Life was 22-11 this season, finishing second to Class 2A’s top team University High.

Springhill at Vidalia

The show goes on for the Vikings, District 4-2A’s champion.

Vidalia tips off against Springhill,

District 1-2A’s third place team, at 7 p.m. today.

Head coach Robert Sanders credits last week’s non-district win over Newellton as keeping his team sharp in the recent doldrum weeks.

&uot;We were hoping to have at least one more (game),&uot; he said. &uot;Some other schools had openings in their schedules, but for some reason or another we weren’t abel to play. Still, (the Newellton game) definitely helped.&uot;

Even though the two teams know very little about the other, each has had the opportunity to scout their opponent in person.

The Lumberjacks were there to watch Vidalia squeak by Newellton 67-61 Feb. 17, while the Vikings saw Springhill square off against Grambling earlier this week.

&uot;They don’t appear to handle the press well,&uot; Sanders said of Springhill. &uot;Grambling runs a similar 2-2-1 press like us and I think we can have success if we run our rotations correctly.&uot;

Unlike some of Vidalia’s foes this season, the Lumberjacks do have a body to match up against Viking big man Louis McNulty.

&uot;They’ll present a big challenge with a kid who’s 6-5, 260,&uot; Sanders added. &uot;If Louis gets into early foul trouble, I think we’ll be in big trouble. We don’t have anybody else that can play with him.&uot;

With an intriguing second-round battle between the winner of District 6-2A champ Rapides and wild card Episcopal, who comes from that tough 8-2A district, ahead, Sanders emphasized his team’s is focused on tonight’s opponent.

&uot;All our attention is focused on Springhill right now,&uot; he said. &uot;We know that if we don’t win, there’s no tomorrow. We’re taking it game by game.&uot;