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Bragging rights, district title on line tonight as Vidalia visits Ferriday
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By Adam Daigle
The Natchez Democrat
Published Friday, November 08, 2002 12:22 AM CST
FERRIDAY, La. - Enough with the hype.
Ever since Saturday morning the talk has centered on the annual Vidalia-Ferriday showdown, the bragging rights, the anticipated crowd to be on hand and the just who is the better team coming in.
So enough. Both teams are locks for the playoffs, and the winner may get as high as a No. 2 seed for the Class 2A playoffs.
That's on their minds, but don't kid yourself - it's still Vidalia-Ferriday.
"We're going to be ready," Vidalia linebacker Hannibal Yearby said. "We're just going to go out there, play ball and be focused. We just want to beat them. We want to be district champions by ourselves. We don't want to have any two-way tie or three-way tie. We've worked too hard to get here and share it with anybody."
The Vikings need a win to both lock up the District 3-2A championship and the first undefeated regular season campaign in the school's history.
Ferriday, on the other hand, must win in order to get a share of the district title. The Trojans have beaten Vidalia the past two seasons, and they're hoping this time is no different.
If the Trojans win and McCall beats Rayville, the Dragons will be in a three-way tie with Vidalia and Ferriday for the title. If McCall loses, the Trojans will be tied with Vidalia but will get the automatic playoffs bid from the district.
"We haven't been district champions in a long time," Ferriday linebacker Ken Hollins said. "It'll really feel good to be a district champion. It (tonight's game) doesn't mean anything to me. It's like a regular game to me."
It's a game of two strong teams that currently occupy two of the top four spots in the Class 2A power ratings. The hottest hand has to go to the Vikings, authors of a 9-0 record thanks to an offense that's really been clicking since the start of district play.
And they do it the unconventional way for high school - three running backs share the load in an offense that utilizes the pass as well.
"We don't have any superstars," Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said. "It's good. This has been a team effort. That's what makes them special. We don't have anybody who is rush for 1,000 yards, but we've got about four of them get about 600. We kind of spread it around, and it works well that way."
The Trojans haven't used that approach much this season, but knowing what they're going to do and stopping it is another. Turnovers were the problems in their overtime loss to McCall last week, and that can't happen again.
The Trojans will rely on Brennan Smith at tailback and Tyrrence Taylor at quarterback to get rolling, and sometimes the best thing for a team to do is lose a game.
"When you lose, you can get everybody's attention," Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. "But you've got to get beyond that. Losing to McCall wasn't the end of the world. The bottom line is we've got to regroup to play (this) week. It's probably the best Vidalia team since I've been here. They seem to execute a whole lot better and seem to be playing with a lot of confidence. It's just going to be an honor to be on the same field with them."
The problem, the way Faircloth sees it, isn't all offense. The Trojans have quickness on defense and move to the ball well with their linebacking corps of Hollins, Akeem Evans and Byron Milligan.
Then you throw in what he says is the intimidation edge the Trojans have, and it could be a slugfest down to the wire.
"Brennan is like Marshall Faulk, and Cosmo (Taylor) is like Michael Vick," Faircloth said. "When you've got Marshall Faulk and Michael Vick on the same team, it's going to be a challenge for our little ol' spaghetti-armed guys to even tackle them. We haven't tackled Brennan in two years, and maybe this is a different group.
"They've got three of the best linebackers in the state all on one team. We've got our work cut out for us."
So what's the X factor tonight?
Emotions may run high, and turnovers may fly. Then it may be field position and just breaks.
"Being able to control the ball and being able to move the ball consistently," McFarland said. "We've got to run the ball better and play good defense - really good defense. We've got to stop them. If we don't stop them, it doesn't matter how well we move the ball. We're just going to try to stay on the field with them."
.
By Adam Daigle
The Natchez Democrat
Published Friday, November 08, 2002 12:22 AM CST
FERRIDAY, La. - Enough with the hype.
Ever since Saturday morning the talk has centered on the annual Vidalia-Ferriday showdown, the bragging rights, the anticipated crowd to be on hand and the just who is the better team coming in.
So enough. Both teams are locks for the playoffs, and the winner may get as high as a No. 2 seed for the Class 2A playoffs.
That's on their minds, but don't kid yourself - it's still Vidalia-Ferriday.
"We're going to be ready," Vidalia linebacker Hannibal Yearby said. "We're just going to go out there, play ball and be focused. We just want to beat them. We want to be district champions by ourselves. We don't want to have any two-way tie or three-way tie. We've worked too hard to get here and share it with anybody."
The Vikings need a win to both lock up the District 3-2A championship and the first undefeated regular season campaign in the school's history.
Ferriday, on the other hand, must win in order to get a share of the district title. The Trojans have beaten Vidalia the past two seasons, and they're hoping this time is no different.
If the Trojans win and McCall beats Rayville, the Dragons will be in a three-way tie with Vidalia and Ferriday for the title. If McCall loses, the Trojans will be tied with Vidalia but will get the automatic playoffs bid from the district.
"We haven't been district champions in a long time," Ferriday linebacker Ken Hollins said. "It'll really feel good to be a district champion. It (tonight's game) doesn't mean anything to me. It's like a regular game to me."
It's a game of two strong teams that currently occupy two of the top four spots in the Class 2A power ratings. The hottest hand has to go to the Vikings, authors of a 9-0 record thanks to an offense that's really been clicking since the start of district play.
And they do it the unconventional way for high school - three running backs share the load in an offense that utilizes the pass as well.
"We don't have any superstars," Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said. "It's good. This has been a team effort. That's what makes them special. We don't have anybody who is rush for 1,000 yards, but we've got about four of them get about 600. We kind of spread it around, and it works well that way."
The Trojans haven't used that approach much this season, but knowing what they're going to do and stopping it is another. Turnovers were the problems in their overtime loss to McCall last week, and that can't happen again.
The Trojans will rely on Brennan Smith at tailback and Tyrrence Taylor at quarterback to get rolling, and sometimes the best thing for a team to do is lose a game.
"When you lose, you can get everybody's attention," Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. "But you've got to get beyond that. Losing to McCall wasn't the end of the world. The bottom line is we've got to regroup to play (this) week. It's probably the best Vidalia team since I've been here. They seem to execute a whole lot better and seem to be playing with a lot of confidence. It's just going to be an honor to be on the same field with them."
The problem, the way Faircloth sees it, isn't all offense. The Trojans have quickness on defense and move to the ball well with their linebacking corps of Hollins, Akeem Evans and Byron Milligan.
Then you throw in what he says is the intimidation edge the Trojans have, and it could be a slugfest down to the wire.
"Brennan is like Marshall Faulk, and Cosmo (Taylor) is like Michael Vick," Faircloth said. "When you've got Marshall Faulk and Michael Vick on the same team, it's going to be a challenge for our little ol' spaghetti-armed guys to even tackle them. We haven't tackled Brennan in two years, and maybe this is a different group.
"They've got three of the best linebackers in the state all on one team. We've got our work cut out for us."
So what's the X factor tonight?
Emotions may run high, and turnovers may fly. Then it may be field position and just breaks.
"Being able to control the ball and being able to move the ball consistently," McFarland said. "We've got to run the ball better and play good defense - really good defense. We've got to stop them. If we don't stop them, it doesn't matter how well we move the ball. We're just going to try to stay on the field with them."
