Perhaps no two teams in the Miss-Lou are more familiar with each other than Ferriday and Vidalia high schools.
The Concordia Parish rivals players are neighbors, the two teams scrimmaged in 7-on-7 multiple times over the summer and went head-to-head in a jamboree.
“There’s no doubt … We probably know Ferriday a lot better than anyone else on our schedule,” Vidalia head coach Jeff Hancock said.
“We do so much with each other, and the kids are familiar and see each other,” Ferriday head coach Dwight Woods said.
Vidalia (2-0) is off to its strongest start in three years. While Vidalia plays in LHSAA Class 3A, its roster hardly holds a numbers advantage. Ferriday (1-1), a Class 2A school, will utilize size and athleticism to test the Viking defense, which has allowed 379 total yards and six points all season.
“Our size should help, but they do a lot of blitzing and stunting,” Woods said. “Our athleticism, being bigger than them, hopefully we can push them off the ball a little bit.”
Ferriday adds to its size and athleticism this week with the return of 6-foot-4 Dantrieze Scott. The junior athlete sat out the first two games per LHSAA rules,
Scott adds strength and length to the Trojans’ receiving corps, but after one week of practice, Woods said his playing time is dependent on being in sufficient game shape.
“They have lots of talent, there’s no doubt about that,” Hancock said.
Over the past seven years, the Concordia Parish clash has been one-sided, with the Trojans winning all seven matchups.
“Hopefully this will be the year that we can start to make this a rivalry again,” Hancock said.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ferriday.