FERRIDAY — The No. 1 Ferriday High Trojans overcame a two-point halftime deficit to win 40-21 over No. 8 Kinder High Yellow Jackets in the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A Louisiana High School Athletics Association on Friday night.

A mix between the Trojans’ offense and defense led Ferriday to victory in the second half. At halftime, Trojans Head Coach Stanley Smith said he told the team it was now or never to win.

“If we lose, then we go home,” Smith said. “They wanted to come out in the second half and finish it.”

Kobe Dillon began the second half scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run and Damion Milligan finished the score with a two-point conversion run, making the game a 20-14 lead by Ferriday with 9:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Three minutes and 39-seconds later, Dillon connected to Elijah White for a 22-yard touchdown pass. Another successful two-point conversion run was good for the Trojans. In the game the Trojans were below 50% on two-point conversions.

Then, the defense ended the Yellow Jackets run in the playoffs. Kylyn Lewis obtained a sack and White picked up a fumble recovery. A 5-yard interception touchdown by Blake Tarver sealed the Trojans’ fate for the semifinal round.

“We played great effort on defense tonight,” Smith said. “They played hard and physical. We knew we had to come out and matchup physically.”

Earlier in the second quarter, Kobe Johnson scored on an interesting play. Hayes Fawcett, the quarterback for the Yellow Jackets, threw a pass behind the line of scrimmage. By Fawcett throwing the ball behind the line, this made the pass a lateral pass.

At first, Johnson intercepted the ball, dropped it, picked the ball back up and ran for a 70-yard touchdown. They played awesome for us tonight.

“At the moment, I was just hoping it counted,” Johnson said. “I knew it was a big play for the team.”

The Trojans move onto the semifinal round and will face the Amite High Warriors. The Warriors came away with a 26-0 win over Loreauville High Tigers.

“It’s a great feeling to be moving to the next round, “Smith said. “Being at home again and the road to the Dome goes through Ferriday.”