[11/15/03]NATCHEZ Never, never, never did Tallulah’s senior group want it to end this way.

Sure, the Trojans’ nine seniors played as hard as they possibly could Friday night in the MPSA Class A South State championship, but they weren’t supposed to have tears in their eyes walking off the field. Not this year.

That’s why that 33-19 loss to Trinity Episcopal was hard to take. This group had been together since the seventh grade, and it wasn’t supposed to end like this.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” Tallulah head coach Jacky Thames said. “Couldn’t be any more proud. We’ve got a group of seniors that have won since the seventh grade. We came back, but it just wasn’t meant to be. They’re unreplacable.”

The matchup between Trinity and Tallulah was a bout of big senior classes, and fortunately for the Saints, they played a better game than in their first two playoff wins.

The Saints didn’t have the miscues they had in the previous games, and piled up 451 yards rushing and 515 yards of total offense. The Trinity defense put the clamps on Tallulah’s ground game, although the Trojans got back into it in the third by passing.

“I think it was a typical South State championship game,” Trinity head coach David King said. “They had a good game plan. They found some holes on us and were able to convert. But they are a great football team with great tradition, and so are we. We made big plays when we had to, and it was just guys making plays all over the field. That’s what we’ve done all year.”

Heidelberg 34, Briarfield 20

Briarfield’s run from wild card to a berth in the state championship was derailed Friday night.

Brent Welch rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns on only 10 carries, and Wesley Parker had one touchdown rushing and another receiving as Heidelberg advanced to the Academy-A championship game for the third time in four years.

Briarfield rallied from a 13-0 halftime deficit behind third quarter touchdown runs by Blake Pierce and Drew Manning, cutting it to 20-12. But Brooks Lewis hit Parker for a 31-yard touchdown late in the third quarter and Welch ripped off a 32-yard TD run in the fourth to seal it for Heidelberg.