Ferriday — Ferriday High School’s Dantrieze Scott led the Trojans with 21 points and 16 rebounds in the opening round of the LHSAA Class 2A playoffs Friday night.

Ferriday topped Runnels High School in the Ferriday Junior High School gym, 63-49, and clinched a second-round date at Episcopal High School Tuesday.

Ferriday was able to physically dominate Runnels for most of the game. Scott and fellow post player Dare Rosenthal used their big bodies to own the glass and record a number of second-chance points.

Even when Rosenthal and Scott weren’t on the glass, they drew defenders to the perimeter to allow Ferriday’s guards to drive into the lane.

Rosenthal had 10 points for Ferriday off the bench.

“When (Runnels) decided to play a 2-3 zone, that gave us the opportunity to put a man in the high post,” Ferriday coach K.G. Watkins said. “When a team sets up like that and we can take advantage of our size, that’s exactly what we are going to do.”

Ferriday opened the first quarter on a 7-0 run, but Runnels closed the lead from an offensive lull from the Trojans and cut their lead to one point at the end of the first quarter.

Ferriday maintained a comfortable lead for most of the second quarter until a 6-0 run from Runnels put the score at 25-23 with 40 seconds left. Scott sat for the majority of the second quarter when he picked up two early fouls. Ferriday managed to extend its lead to 29-23 before the end of the half.

The second half was a turning point for Ferriday. Scott started the third period and helped extended the Trojans’ lead by five points with a quick layup and a 3-point play. On the following possession, Ronald Williams received an entry pass at the baseline and slammed down a dunk to give Ferriday a 36-24 lead.

Down 10 points with less than two minutes to play in the game, Runnels attempted to regroup on offense with a final timeout, but its three point shooting couldn’t revive its playoff chances.

Ferriday held the ball for the final 40 seconds and Scott threw down a dunk as time expired.

“My coach told me, when you are on top of somebody, go ahead and put them away,” Scott said. “We had a lot of second chance points. When one of our guys missed, somebody came in to clean up.”

Ferriday’s athleticism led to the win, but Watkins said the Trojans will have to improve their jump shooting moving forward. Watkins said his squad might not be able to physically dominate teams as they progress deeper into the bracket.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight,” Watkins said. “As (the playoffs) go, it’s going to get tougher. We have to know moving forward that we can’t keep making mental mistakes and errors.”

Marquell Griffin had 12 points for Ferriday. Williams contributed eight points in the Trojans’ win.

Runnels was led by Douglas Gulley with 12 points and Trent Tucker with nine points.