The Vidalia High School Vikings look to get back on the winning track as they host the General Trass Panthers Friday night in an LHSAA District 2-2A game.

Kickoff for Vidalia’s homecoming game is set for 7 p.m.

The Vikings are coming off a loss on the road to the Rayville High Hornets, 40-13, spoiling their undefeated record.

“We took a whipping. They’ve got a good ball club, and we weren’t ready,” Vidalia coach Dee Faircloth said. “We were kind of busy patting ourselves on the back last week. In football, you’re either improving or taking a step backwards. Last week, we took a step backwards.”

Faircloth said he hopes the Vikings refocus and play like they did at the beginning of the season. He also said there wasn’t anything he was pleased with coming out of last week’s performance.

“All areas need improving — offense, defense, special teams. We’ve got to get ready to play. When you get beat 40-13, you don’t find many happy things to think about. So we’ve got to regroup and get ready for General Trass,” Faircloth said. “Last week, they were ranked No. 5, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Even though Vidalia (4-1, 1-1) has a better overall record than General Trass (3-2, 0-1), the Panthers have a much higher power rating in LHSAA Class 2A.

Despite getting beaten last week at home by No. 1 Ferriday 60-12, the Panthers only dropped one spot from No. 5 to No. 6. The Vikings, meanwhile, fell from No. 16 to No. 28.

“They’ve got athletes. They’re big and they’re physical. We’ve got to get after it like we did the first four weeks,” Faircloth said.

With the drop in the power ratings, this could be a must-win situation for Vidalia. The Vikings might not be able to afford a drop to 1-2 in the District 2-2A standings with the likes of Ferriday and Mangham on the horizon.

Even though this is Faircloth’s first homecoming game as Vidalia’s head coach in eight years, his opinion about it is the same now as it was from 1968 to 2009.

“I’ve never been excited about homecoming. Like I said before, if I were running the world, the first thing I’d do is get rid of homecoming.”