With Its Stadium Declared 'Unplayable,' Louisiana High School Football Team Forced to Travel Every Week

Ferriday’s historic program — once a state champion and community cornerstone — has spent the season without true home-field advantage after the LHSAA deemed its recently resurfaced field unplayable, leaving playoff hosting hopes uncertain.

Ferriday Trojans / Melinda Martinez/The Town Talk / USA TODAY NETWORK

Home football games are cherished memories that last a lifetime.

Homefield Advantage Has Vanished for Ferriday High

There is also that little thing known as homefield advantage. Unfortunately for Ferriday High School, however, it has been forced to play the last two home games at its opponent's venue.

On October 20, The Natchez Democrat reported that the LHSAA moved Ferriday's Week Six home game to Mangham. citing substandard issues with the field which was resurfaced in 2023.

The Trojans, who came into the game with a 5-0 record, lost 58-46 at Mangham. After a road win at Madison Parish, Ferriday played another home game away from home and lost 13-6 to eight-time state champ Oak Grove.

Potential to Return Home This Season

Ferriday won't host any games during the regular season, which ends next week, although the LHSAA will make a future determination on playoff games.

Ray Butler of Louisiana High School Sports/14-0 Productions visited the stadium on Oct. 19 and posted photos on social media, noting that the field was in "much better shape" after some work was done.

I swung by Ferriday to look at their field after it was ruled unfit for play by the LHSAA. Appears to be in much better shape after some work was done to it. Should be approved for play soon. Which is great for those seniors because at 6-1 and a Top 10 power ranking they’ll… pic.twitter.com/BLJFJtibKc

— 14-0 Productions (@14_0productions) October 19, 2025

At 6-2, the Trojans are No. 10 in the Division IV nonselect power ratings. FHS travels to undefeated Ouachita Christian this week and will play its Week 10 home game away from home at Rayville. If the Trojans maintain a power rating of No. 16-or-better, it will host in the first round of the playoffs.

Ferriday High Has a Proud Tradition of Athletic Success

Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River across from Natchez, the town of Ferriday (population 3,000) is located in Concordia Parish in central Louisiana. Musicians Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley are natives.

In 2019, the Trojans blew out Many High 56-17 to win their first state championship since 1956. Ferriday won four straight titles from 1953-to-1956 with runner-up appearances in 1944, 1962 and 1984. The school also has two basketball championships. In 1989, Shawn Griggs was named Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year during Ferriday's run to the Class 3A title.

FHS offensive coordinator DeVante Scott is one of the most heralded football players to come through the school.

Last season, No. 8-seeded Ferriday and No. 25 Lake Arthur met at FHS in the first round of the playoffs, and both were disqualified after a brawl occurred with the Trojans leading 30-8 in the second quarter.

Ferriday had an enrollment of 250 students in grades 9-through-12 in 2023, making it the eighth-smallest Class 2A school. Recent reclassification numbers published by the LHSAA place the current enrollment at 243.

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