Who’s in and out of prep football playoffs
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, November 12, 2019
NATCHEZ — Now that the regular season has come to an end in high school football for the likes of Natchez High School, Vidalia High School, Ferriday High School, Delta Charter School, Block High School, and Sicily Island High School, here is a re-cap of which teams got in and which ones will not be participating in the postseason.
Natchez High School
Natchez High failed to capitalize on a possible opportunity to earn a berth in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A South State Playoffs as the Bulldogs lost in the waning seconds to South Jones High School 43-40 last Friday night.
A win by the Bulldogs plus a Brookhaven High School win over Forest Hill High School would have put them in as the No. 4 seed out of Region 3-5A. But even had NHS won, they would have still been on the outside looking in as the Panthers lost to the Patriots 28-21.
Adams County Christian School
Adams County Christian School is moving right along in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class 5A Playoffs after the Rebels avenged a District 3-5A loss to Silliman Institute back in late September with a decisive 23-6 win over the Wildcats in the quarterfinals
This Friday at 7 p.m., the sixth-seeded Rebels play host to the 10th-seeded Starkville Academy Volunteers at Bobby Marks Stadium in the semifinals. This will be a rematch of last year’s Class AAA quarterfinals, which the Rebels won at Starkville Academy 32-13 on their way to the state championship.
ACCS is the only team from Mississippi in this area that is still in the playoffs. Cathedral High School, Centreville Academy, Jefferson County High School, Wilkinson County High School, Franklin County High School, and Wilkinson County Christian Academy all lost their playoffs games last Friday night.
Across the Mississippi River, three local teams and one area team made the Louisiana High School Athletics Association playoffs.
Ferriday High School
Ferriday High School and District 2-2A champion is the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A Playoffs and will host No. 32 seed Vinton High School at Melz Field Friday at 7 p.m. in a first-round match-up
The Trojans go into the playoffs with a 9-1 record while Vinton is 4-5 overall. The Lions finished tied for fourth in District 5-2A with No. 24 seed Oakdale High School.
Vidalia High School
Vidalia High School squeaked into the Class 2A Playoffs as the No. 31 seed and will be on the road to take on No. 2 seed Many High School at 7 p.m. Friday. The Vikings, 3-7 overall, won two of their last regular-season three games, including a 26-0 win at Delhi Charter School, to finish tied for fifth with the Gators with a 2-4 district record.
That win by Vidalia also knocked Delhi Charter from No. 30 a week earlier down to No. 34 in the Class 2A power ratings, assuring the Gators that they would not be part of the playoffs.
Delta Charter School
Despite a 41-6 loss to Division IV No. 5 seed Ouachita Christian School 41-6 last Friday night for its third consecutive defeat, the Delta Charter School Storm stayed put at No. 19 and that’s where it is seeded for the Class 1A Playoffs.
Delta Charter, 3-7 overall, will be on the road to take on the Plain Dealing High School Lions in a first-round game Friday at 7 p.m. in Plain Dealing, La. The Plain Dealing Lions finished fifth in District 1-1A and enter the playoffs with an overall record of 5-5.
Block High School
A close loss to rival St. Mary’s High School was just enough to keep Block High School at No. 24 in the Class 1A power ratings. That was lowest seed of the team that made the Class 1A Playoffs this year after 27 teams got in last year.
A brutal non-district schedule also helped Block get in despite a 2-8 overall record and a 1-4 mark in District 3-1A. The Bears will take on a familiar opponent in the first round Friday at 7 p.m. when they travel to Montgomery, La. to take on district rival and No. 9 seed Montgomery High School.
The two teams met back on Oct. 25 at Block High School and the Tigers prevailed 38-16. Montgomery is 7-3 overall and finished second behind No. 8 seed Logansport High School in District 3-1A.
Sicily Island High School
Sicily Island High School opted out of the Class 1A Playoffs despite a 30-12 win at District 2-1A foe Tensas High School last Friday night, its first win since Week 2 to finish 3-7 overall and 1-6 in district play. Tigers head coach Donald Money said after the game that decision was made because they had too many injured players.