FERRIDAY, La. – In only his second year as the Trojans’ head coach, James McFarland took the team to the Class 2A quarter-finals.

The Trojans’ shot at a state title ended Friday with a 14-0 home loss to Farmerville, but McFarland lost something more valuable than any football game.

Eleven seniors played an integral role on Ferriday’s team, and several will continue to play football at the collegiate level.

But McFarland said the loss of players is nothing compared to the loss of personalities that depart with his seniors.

&uot;I’ll miss them all as people more than football players,&uot; he said. &uot;They’re all good kids, each and every one of them.&uot;

His team greatly benefited from the leadership of his upperclassmen, McFarland said.

&uot;I didn’t have a lot of discipline problems,&uot; he said. &uot;I didn’t really have any problems. It’s going to be hard to get a bunch like that again.&uot;

Every senior on the team contributed this season, especially on Ferriday’s impressive defense, which featured seven starting 12th-graders.

The defense was led by linebacker Stan Smith. Fred Jones and Robert Taylor led the secondary and linebacker Carlton Curvin made big plays on both offense and defense.

Ferriday’s defensive line included three seniors – Willie Glasper, Dayton Davis and Shermaine Hawkins.

The Trojan offense was led by senior 2,000-yard back Corey Gordon and sure-handed wide out Lawrence Washington. Brandon Woods and Nathaniel Smith played a variety of roles on offense, defense and special teams.

&uot;I quite naturally wish we had gone further,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;But we beat a lot of teams this year. I really think we had a good season.&uot;