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May be time to end series
It was deja vu all over again.
Natchez High wore down Ferriday High, dominating the second half in a 33-6 win over the Trojans Saturday night in Natchez.
It was the most lopsided win for Natchez in the short series.
But it was also not as dominating as it sounded.
Natchez used a flea-flicker play on the final play of the first half to score from 22 yards to go up 21-6 at halftime. There's a big difference between 14-6 and 21-6, although the outcome would not have been any different as the Bulldogs just had too many players and two full games under their belt.
Natchez's final touchdown came with 1:22 remaining in the game on a 22-yard touchdown pass.
Ferriday also lost starting quarterback Shannon Morales with 5:46 remaining in the first quarter when he dislocated his shoulder after being hit with his facemask being pulled. The facemask penalty was called. That was one other thing that was different. Two years ago, the officiating was really bad in Natchez. Saturday night's game was very well officiated.
Freshman Ronald Adams. all 5-foot-4 of him, stepped in and did a very credible job. Adams avoided a big Natchez rush most of the night, rushing. He also made some great passes under heavy duress.
But, as you can expect from a freshman, he had trouble with the center exchange several times and had a couple of hiccups on handoffs.
But it was still a very commendable performance, especially considering the opponent. Adams reminds me of Ferriday principal James Davis, when he showed so much composure back in the pocket and showed an arm bigger than his size with a lot of accuracy.
And while rookie head coach Cleothis Cummings tried to take some of the blame, I thought the Trojans were well-prepared and played very competitively. This team was ready to play. They were not ready to lose their starting quarterback or to play four full quarters against a team that had them heavily outnumbered and two full games under their belt and a jamboree. Ferriday competed for two quarters in the Vidalia Jamboree last week in its first live action
I know some folks are not going to like this, but it is time to give serious thought to discontinuing playing Natchez in its first game of the season.
Natchez had two games under its belt and will always be better conditioned just because of that fact.
Former Ferriday coach Chad Harkins said two years ago after Ferriday lost 14-0 to the Bulldogs, "I don't think we were out-manned or out-classed, we were out-lasted."
That's the way it is going to be.
The main reason I don't like this as an opening game for Ferriday is the toll it can take on the rest of the season.
Two years ago, DaVante Scott suffered a heart contusion against Natchez and missed the Block game the following week.
Shannon Morales will miss at least one game. It could have been much worse.
The idea is great, it's convenient and it's fun for the fans. But I think the toll it can have on the Ferriday team is not worth the other benefits.
You won't find many 2A teams playing 5A or 6A teams, especially in their opener. There's a reason for that. Your teams gets worn down, while the other teams substitutes freely, which makes them more susceptible to injury.
There's no doubt in my mind Ferriday can hang with Natchez most years. But at what cost? |
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