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FERRIDAY — Ferriday High School senior quarterback Caleb Ellis accounted for three touchdowns and senior athlete Jerry Griffin had two long touchdown runs as the Trojans defeated the Delhi Charter School Gators 50-32 last Friday night at Melz Field.

It was not only Ferriday’s homecoming game, but it was also the LHSAA District 2-2A opener for two teams that entered this game with 3-0 overall records. It was also against a new district opponent in Delhi Charter.

“Offense-wise, when you score 50 points, you should win. Offense showed how explosive we are,” Trojans assistant coach DeVante Scott said. “But we had some penalties and a lack of focus (at times) that killed a few drives. We left a lot of points on the field.”

And for much of the first half, even after getting down 14-0, Delhi Charter stood toe-to-toe with a good Ferriday team. After Chris Reed Jr. ran in from six yards out with about a minute left in the first quarter, the Gators returned the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown to make it a 14-6 game. Then they scored on a short TD pass to make it a 14-12 game with 4:00 left until halftime.

But Ferriday regained its composure and the momentum on Griffin’s 47-yard touchdown with about a minute to go before halftime. Reed Jr.’s 2-point conversion run gave the Trojans a 22-12 halftime lead. Ellis threw a 57-yard TD pass to Desmen Jefferson less than three minutes into the game.

Ellis scored on a 35-yard run with 8:00 left in the third quarter and threw a 76-yard TD pass to Paityn Collins midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Trojans a commanding 50-20. Delhi Charter scored two touchdowns against Ferriday’s back-ups on defense in the final four minutes.

Griffin also scored on a 40-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and finished with over 100 rushing yards.

“Caleb Elllis did a great job tonight. Offensive line did a better job in the second half than in the first half. We have four good running backs, but Jerry Griffin was special for us tonight,” Scott said. “We still had a bunch of hiccups that we need to work on.”

Scott also praised the effort of linebackers Lionel Scott Jr. and Marion Smith, each of whom really stepped up to lead the Trojans’ defense.

“They played big for us. They were both getting to the ball all night,” Scott said. “Marion had between 15 and 20 tackles. Lionel had 15 tackles.”

Ferriday (4-0, 1-0) next plays at district opponent Beekman Charter School next Friday at 7 p.m.