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DRY PRONG, La. — Despite having a serious numbers disadvantage, the LHSAA Class 3A Vidalia High School Vikings hung tough with the Class 4A Grant High School Cougars last Friday night.

Unfortunately, even with the cooler weather and lower humidity, cramps started to take over Vidalia in the second half and Grant took advantage of the situation as the Cougars pulled away for a 42-20 win over the Vikings.

Despite the loss, Vidalia head coach Josh West was pleased with the effort his team showed against a bigger opponent on the road.

“We went into halftime down 20-14. Then we took the lead in the third quarter. Then attrition set in. Some of our players started cramping up. But we fought. I felt like we could’ve won that game,” West said. “They have a bigger team. They had 70 players on their team. The score doesn’t tell the whole story.”

West also noted that Grant had a couple of big plays, one of them a screen pass that turned into a long touchdown for the Cougars that gave them much-needed momentum. He added that the Vikings need to respond better to adversity.

“We’ve got a young team. We have to learn to be resilient,” West said. “But I’m proud of my team.” He also said a few of his players stepped up for the Vikings even in defeat.

“Marc Perkins scored. He had a great game for us. Michael Randall Jr. scored for us. He had a great game for us. Elmari “Juice” Lewis, he’s our quarterback. He played defense tonight. He’s got a scholarship offer from Alcorn State University to play safety. So we let him play some defense. He forced a fumble and he made some good tackles.”

Vidalia (1-3) plays host to Delhi High School next Friday at 7 p.m.