JONESVILLE, La. &045;Today’s secret word boys and girls is focus.

As in, Block head coach Chad Harkins believes if his Bears, ranked 10th in Class 1A, had a bit more focus in their 18-14 loss to Vidalia i they possibly could have upset Class 2A’s No. 4 team.

He hopes the mental mistakes, such as alignment, penalties and backs not hitting the hole hard enough, that were brought out in the opener’s loss to the Vikings have caused his players to

focus more in practice this week.

&uot;We’ve been working on it. I still don’t feel like at every practice we’ve been as focused as we need to be,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;(Thursday) we’ll go for an hour and 15 minutes to sharpen up on some things. The kids are working, they’re just not quite where we need them to be.&uot;

The Bears actually led 14-12 in the fourth quarter last Friday, but two lost fumbles and 60 yards worth of penalties did them in, as C.J. Williams returned a recovery 31 yards for the game-winning score.

Block hosts Ferriday at 7 p.m. today, as both teams enter with 0-1 records after the Trojans lost another heartbreaker 20-19 to Class 3A Winnsboro.

Harkins said neither team wants to begin the season 0-2, meaning both ball clubs will have their backs against the walls to register a first in the win column.

&uot;Whenever we play Block or somebody close by like them it’s always a rivalry game,&uot; Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. &uot;The kids may now each other, or even related to one another. I expect a lot of hard-hitting. Neither team doesn’t want to lose.&uot;

Harkins lamented over the paradox of playing Ferriday close in a loss last season, prompting Concordians to jump aboard the Block bandwagon.

However, playing Vidalia to the last light bulb flickered out and it was the Vikings who were flatter than a week-old, opened can of Dr. Pepper.

&uot;I don’t think that’s fair to either us or Ferriday,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;I love the positive things that are said about my program and my kids. But they have to come out and play hard Friday.&uot;

The showdown expects to be a 180-degree turnaround from a year ago, where the Trojans could rely on a healthy running game with Brennan Smith and a versatile weapon in quarterback Tyrrence Taylor.

Both Taylor and Smith are at Nicholls State currently, and McFarland’s offense sputtered early and often in last Friday’s near miss.

&uot;The offense didn’t perform as well as I would’ve liked. But we were able to pass a bit and score some points,&uot; he said. &uot;I thought our defense against Winnsboro bent, but didn’t break. We stopped them when we had to.&uot;

Things defensively are different for Harkins from last year’s contest, as well. The Bears ran a ’46’ defense in 2002, but have switched back to a more traditional 4-3 package this season.

The third-year head coach is still privy to believing with Ferriday’s traditional notoriety of athletes, the Trojan offense will not be left in the hands of first-year starting quarterback Scotty Cage.

&uot;I still feel like the run will be a factor just because of their speed and the athletes they have,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;It’s going to be a dogfight. If we snooze just a little bit, we may be down 20 points. If we don’t come to play four quarters we may find ourselves in a hole right of the bat.&uot;

Remember that buzz word?

In the loss, McFarland saw the kind of intensity and determination that makes champions.

When the tents could have easily been folded after falling behind, the Trojans hung around and managed to fall short by a mere extra point.

McFarland is well aware of what will face him on the other side of the ball tonight, and knows it all begins with Block’s collection of senior leadership.

&uot;Block is really no surprise to us because they are a senior-laden team and are very good right now,&uot; he said. &uot;They’ve got a bunch of returning starters. From what I gather, they had Vidalia beat, so we’re just going to try and stay with them.&uot;

Harkins conjures it is the other way around with the deadly wheels the Trojans possess. He’ll be happy to get out of the Autobahn that is district 4-2A after tonight.

&uot;One thing I will do after Friday is breathe a little bit easier,&uot; Harkins said. &uot;I don’t feel like next week or on down the line speed is something I’ll have to worry about. (Ferriday) will be the fastest team we play probably up until the playoffs.&uot;

Harkins said overall last Friday’s performance pleased him. It is a feat to be commending for to push one of the better teams in Class 2A to the brink.

He hopes, though, that the Bears have put that loss behind them and are now focused on the task at hand with Ferriday.

&uot;I can understand fumbles where we get hit and the ball pops out, but sometimes we didn’t have the handoff after the play got going,&uot; Harkins recalled. &uot;On the goal line we jumped offsides. One time we punted and my guy slams into Vidalia’s returner before he had a chance to field the punt and that’s 15 yards right there. If we plan on reaching our goals we’ve got to get more focused.&uot;

Vidalia at Newellton

The Vikings complete two-thirds of their district 4-1A slate at 7 p.m. today on the road.

After, having held on to beat Block, 18-14, last Friday, Vidalia is set to take on another set of Bears tonight in Newellton, who was a 26-14 victor over Sarepta last week.

Vidalia’s offense struggled to get started against Block last Friday, not scoring until 4:31 left before halftime.

Despite, running the ball effectively as a team (40-157) quarterback Tony Hawkins never got the feel of the game as he was 4 of 13 for 32 yards.

Vidalia’s final 4-1A opponent comes in week eight of the season when it travels to Delhi.