Has there been some great Friday night football weather, or what? OK, some nights it could have been cooler.

And there was Oct. 22 when the rain and wind made for a very stormy night.

But the last few weeks have been perfect and we can thank the good Lord for that. Hey, He even waited until after the games were played Friday night to bring us some much needed rain.

So give thanks, but don’t do it before the game because someone may file a lawsuit.

My question is if a foreign exchange student is insulted by the playing of the National Anthem, are we going to cut that out.

How about folks against violence? Maybe we should just cut out football all together for those folks.

Anyway, back to football.

The road to the Class 2A state championship will not go through Concordia Parish.

Vidalia High fell to a good Christian Life team 31-20.

The Vikings would have hosted Vermillion Catholic in the quarterfinals this Friday after the Abbeville, La., team upset Newman Friday night.

Vidalia had to battle the flu virus last week, and when you go against a team the size of Christian Life, you better have all the strength you can muster.

But it was still a good season for the Vikings, who will have a major rebuilding job next year after losing 20 seniors and their entire offensive line from this year.

Ferriday High lost to Many 45-25 last Friday, but the game was closer than the score indicates.

Ferriday actually led Many 19-15 midway through the third quarter before Tiger quarterback Isom Scott went around right end 80 yards to quickly quiet the large Ferriday crowd. Terrace White added the kick for a 22-19 Many lead.

Scott darted in and around Ferriday defenders all night, finishing the game with 312 rushing yards, 103 passing yards and four TDs. He even had an 18-yard TD run called back in the fourth quarter because of illegal motion.

But Ferriday answered Many’s scores for the first three quarters as Aron Thomas filled the skies with 33 passes, completing 17 for 210 yards.

&uot;He is one the best quarterback we’ve seen this year,&uot; said Many head coach David Feaster. &uot;West St. John has a good quarterback, but he’s right there with him.&uot;

Ferriday, 7-5, only loses four seniors, with Thomas being one of them.

&uot;If they get a quarterback, they are going to be tough to handle next year,&uot; Feaster said. &uot;They hit us harder than anybody has hit us all year long. I was real impressed with how they played with so much intensity.&uot;

And then there is Centreville.

If you are a member of the Tiger football team, you know from day one what you are playing for. If not, head coach Bill Hurst will keep reminding you.

Hurst can get the absolute best out of his players, and they have the utmost respect for him.

But while’s he’s a lion on the field, Hurst is a lamb away from it.

His teams are going to always display character and be well disciplined.

That’s why Centreville Academy will be displaying state championship trophy No. 6 the rest of the year.

The Tigers were not the only story of Wilkinson County. Wilkinson County High went 11-2 before losing to Forest in the second round of the playoffs.

Take away Wilkinson County and Concordia Parish, and it would have even been a shorter season. But it was still enjoyable.

Joey Martin is sports editor of The Democrat. He can be reached by calling 446-5172 ext. 232 or at joey.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.