NATCHEZ — Natchez High fell one victory short of its first playoff appearance in 10 years last season, but today they begin the first step of washing that bad taste out of their mouths and beginning anew.

The Bulldogs will have their annual Blue and Gold Spring Scrimmage at 6 p.m., where coaches will be able to take a good look at players who will be able to help the team when the fall rolls around.

“We want to make sure we get the kids participating so we can get a good look at them,” Natchez coach Lance Reed said. “We also want to make sure they can execute the schemes and make sure everyone knows what they are doing.”

The spring game wraps up three weeks of spring practice for the team, and is a chance for them to end spring practice in positive fashion.

“We want to finish up on a high note,” Reed said. “We’ll go into our summer workouts and then roll right into the season.”

Reed said the spring game is a fun way for the players and coaches to put an end to spring practices.

“The players really get up for the game,” Reed said. “It’s for bragging rights. There’s about 30 kids on each team. We try to make a big deal out of it.”

And the game is not only a big deal to the players, but to fans of the Bulldogs as well.

“We want people to get into the program,” Reed said. “We want the community to get behind the program. We’d like to see a lot of people at the game.”

And while the spring game may put a period on spring practices, Reed said there is still a lot of progress that needs to be made before the players strap the helmet on for real in August.

“We’ve got a lot of potential,” Reed said. “The younger kids need to step up and play. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”