VIDALIA, La. – The Vikings host winless Crowville at 7 p.m. Friday for a homecoming match that Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth would rather not face.

&uot;Homecoming is the worst thing in the United States,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;I haven’t seen a positive in 30 years. I’m still looking.&uot;

Homecoming festivities create a distraction,&160;Faircloth said. &uot;The kids are thinking about corsages and girls,&uot; he said. &uot;They’re not focused.&uot;

And against a team with nothing to lose, a lack of focus can be disastrous, he said.

&uot;They’ve been taking it on the chin,&uot; Faircloth said said of 0-8 Crowville. &uot;You never know. I hate to play ball clubs like that.&uot;

Crowville runs a little bit of everything on offense, Faircloth said.

&uot;They’re still searching,&uot; he said. &uot;There’s no telling what they’ll come out in. But we’ve seen just about every thing this year. We’ll be ready.&uot;

At 3-5, Vidalia needs to be ready if the Vikings have any hope of making the playoffs.

&uot;I’d say it’s a must-win game,&uot; Faircloth said. &uot;Of course, our last two games were must-wins, too, and we didn’t fare so well.&uot;

In the Louisiana playoff system, the top 32 teams in a power ranking system make the playoffs. Vidalia currently sits on the bubble at No. 32.

If the Vikings enter the playoffs at No. 32, they will play the No. 1 seeded team in the state. &uot;That sounds like fun,&uot; Faircloth said.

Interestingly, district rival Ferriday is currently tied for the No. 2 seed in the state, meaning there is a very real chance the Vikings and Trojans will play in the first round of the playoffs, a week after the teams finish their regular seasons against each other at Ferriday.

Hinds AHS at Cathedral

The Cathedral Green Wave will be looking to pick up its first win of the season when they host the Hinds Agricultural High School War Dawgs in a District 7-2A game at D’Evereaux Field at 7:30 p.m. today.

Cathedral, coming off a 27-16 homecoming loss to Wesson, is 0-7 overall and 0-4 in district, while Hinds AHS is 0-3 in district play.

&uot;We’ve had a good week of practice,&uot; said Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley. &uot;This is our last home game of the season. For the (eight) seniors, it’s their last game at D’Evereaux Field, so I know they’ll be ready.&uot;

Cathedral will be without two of its players for tonight’s game: sophomore offensive guard and defensive journeyman Jeff Chandler, who is still recovering from a broken collarbone he suffered on Oct. 16 in a junior varsity game; and freshman backup quarterback Turner Smith, who broke his wrist in practice earlier this week.

Hinds AHS runs an I-formation and a one-back formation on offense and a four-man front on defense, Beesley said.

&uot;Their quarterback, Julius Davis, is a good athlete,&uot; he said. &uot;One of their running backs is short but stout. He’s a good back.&uot;