With the regular season nearing its end, the Trinity Saints and the Huntington Hounds both play important games tonight with playoff implications at stake.

Trinity steps out of MPSA&160;District 5-1A to take on the Central Private School Rebels at the Trinity Saints field at 7:30 p.m.

&uot;They’re a 3A school and we’re a 1A school,&uot; said Trinity head coach David King. &uot;We’ve had a brutal schedule. We just don’t know when we’ll get the breaks.

&uot;We’ve played the top-ranked 1A team in Tensas, the second-ranked 1A team in Amite School Center, a top-10 ranked 2A team in East Rankin and now a Class 3A team,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s not fair.&uot;

King said three players will not play in tonight’s game: Chad Barnes, who tore his ACL in the East Rankin game, is out for the rest of the season; Lee Simpson, the team’s leading tackler, is ill and is &uot;90 percent sure he won’t play,&uot; King said; and Jon Borum, who still has a knee injury suffered in the ASC game.

&uot;This is the seniors’ last home game on the field, so hopefully they’ll be fired up and ready to go,&uot; King said.

If they aren’t, their football careers may soon be over. The Saints must win this game and then beat Huntington by at least 10 points next week to make the playoffs. Trinity currently has a 3-5 overall record.

King said Central Private’s offense is a lot like Trinity’s offense.

&uot;They run a four-wide set and they throw the ball a lot,&uot; King said. &uot;Their quarterback, Adam Hunt, does a good job throwing the ball. Joel Fontenot-Amadee is their best running back.&uot;

Defensively, Central Private runs a 4-4 set and &uot;will blitz a lot,&uot; King said. He said the player to watch on defense is linebacker Brandon Gomez, who he described as a &uot;big-time hitter.&uot;

Huntington hosts an important district game against the Pine Hills Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. today.

&uot;We need to beat Pine Hills to stay in (the playoff hunt),&uot; said Huntington head coach Gerald Reeves.

The Hounds come into the game with a 5-3 overall record and a 1-1 district record. The Wildcats are 1-7 overall and 0-2 in district.

The Hounds will be without Jori Ford, who injured his ankle last week against Riverdale, and Barrett Kiser, who injured his left forefinger three weeks ago.

Reeves is looking for good performances from quarterback Barrett Arthur and running back Luke Davis.

Reeves said Pine Hills is a team that &uot;has a lot of talent, but they’ve come up short on a few games.&uot;

The Hounds defense will see either an &uot;I-slot or wishbone offense,&uot; Reeves said, led by quarterback Jonathan Honea.

&uot;He has a rocket for an arm, throws the ball well and is a very strong kid,&uot; Reeves said. &uot;He’s the key to their offense.&uot;

Pine Hills will run a 6-2 and sometimes a 5-3 defense, Reeves said, led by linebacker Brad Delaughter and cornerback Shelton Anderson.

Reeves said he will not make any changes on offense or defense.