Some ill-fated football teams can’t win for losing. The Ferriday Trojans can’t win for winning.

The 3-0 Trojans gained two votes but dropped a spot to No. 15 in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association 2A prep football poll despite hammering the Northeast Vikings 36-0 last Friday.

The Vidalia Vikings received five votes after a 6-0 loss to the Winnsboro Wildcats. Vidalia (2-1) lost five votes and dropped five spots to No. 19.

&uot;I don’t pay attention to the polls,&uot; Ferriday coach James McFarland said. &uot;It doesn’t matter where you’re ranked right now, it’s where you finish.&uot;

McFarland obviously hopes that finish will entail a state championship for his team.

&uot;I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but with this team, I think we can do it,&uot; he said. &uot;If we keep improving like we have been, we can be as good as any ranked team in the state.&uot;

Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said Ferriday is at that level already.

&uot;They should be at least in the top 10, if not higher,&uot; he said.

Both teams have an opportunity for a big gain in the poll Friday as Ferriday faces 4A Marksville (2-1) at home and Vidalia travels to 2-1 Ouachita Christian, ranked No. 7 this week with 58 votes.

&uot;They’re a good football team,&uot; McFarland said of Marksville. &uot;They run a Wing-T, (and) have good athletes. It should be a good test for us.&uot;

&uot;We’ve got our work cut out for us,&uot; Faircloth said. After Ouachita Christian, his Vikings travel to Jonesboro-Hodge, currently ranked at No. 13 with 18 votes, before returning home to open their district schedule against Block.

Ferriday opened the season Sept. 1 with a 14-7 win over Peabody.

The Trojans blew up against Jefferson County the next week, winning 46-0 with the help of running back Corey Gordon’s 210 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Vidalia squeaked past the Franklin County Bulldogs 8-6 on Sept. 1, prompting Faircloth to demand more from his offense.

The offense responded the next week with six touchdowns in 38-28 win over the Newellton Bears.