NATCHEZ — Defense seemed to be the theme for the first week of high school football in the Miss-Lou.

The Mississippi Private School Association began its season last Friday and several area schools used defense to start their season on a positive note.

Wilkinson County Christian took a 20-7 win over Adams County Christian while Centreville squeaked out a 14-7 win over Brookhaven Academy.

But perhaps the most impressive showing of the opening week was that of Trinity Episcopal.

The Saints traveled to Toxey, Ala., and dominated the defending Alabama Independent School Association Class A champion South Choctaw Rebels 30-13.

“Our kids are used to making big plays,” Trinity coach David King said. “We got some big plays early on and stunned them a little bit. Then we made enough plays defensively to stop them.”

King said his defense was the key, as they held the potent Rebel passing offense in check throughout the night.

“I thought our defensive backfield was especially strong,” King said. “They had a very good quarterback, but we knocked away a few passes and intercepted several. I feel like right now, with our youngsters, we have to count on our defense to make plays, and they did a good job of that.”

Trinity will be on the road again this week when they face cross-town rival ACCS, a team they defeated 47-0 last season.

Another team whose defense saved them when the offense struggled was Centreville. The Tigers defense held Brookhaven Academy to just 186 yards and one touchdown.

“The defense saved us because the offense didn’t show up Friday night, starting with the line,” Centreville assistant coach Brian Stutzman said. “They didn’t block and if they don’t block, we don’t go anywhere.”

Stutzman said the Tiger coaches were concerned about a lackluster week of practice leading up to the game, and their fears were confirmed with the sloppy performance.

“They played just like they practiced and that’s not a good sign,” Stutzman said. “We’re all kind of scratching our heads right now figuring out what we have to do to get them in the right direction.”

Stutzman said the players have to get last season’s Class AA state championship out of their minds and focus on this season.

“They kind of went out there with the opinion that other people will give them a victory, but they don’t understand that every Friday night will be like last Friday,” Stutzman said. “Everyone is out to get us because we’re the defending champions. We’ve got to pick it up and play that much harder every Friday night.”

Centreville will be at home to take on Class AAA opponent Parklane Academy this Friday night.

While the Centreville coaches weren’t pleased with the execution in their opening win, WCCA coach Sam Byrd IV was very proud of his team after their 13-point win over ACCS.

He was especially pleased with his defense, which allowed ACCS just 115 total yards in the game, including only 11 yards in the first half.

“They did a wonderful job,” Byrd said. “AC got a (touchdown) drive to start the third quarter, bt after they we stepped up and got good stops. That turned the momentum of the game and allowed us to score.

“The team feeds on defense. We got a good stop and the offense can feed on what the defense does.”

ACCS coach Paul Hayles said that his team’s inability to maintain the momentum in the game was a key to their loss.

“We’ve got to understand when we’ve got momentum, we’ve got to keep it,” Hayles said. “We’re a young team that’s still learning. This team has a lot of potential.”

Hayles said his defense had a couple of breakdowns but did have some good moments.

“We’ve got to settle down and stop making one fundamental breakdown in key positions,” Hayles said. “We had a couple of secondary breakdowns but we’ll get those corrected.”

They will have to do so quickly because they face rival Trinity this Friday night.

“We will face a very good team that can throw the ball,” Hayles said. “We’ve got our hands full, but one thing about my group is they will work.”

WCCA will jump into district play this Friday when they travel to take on Huntington, which was pounded by Central Private 41-13 last Friday.

The Hounds amassed only 127 total yards and just five first downs in the contest while allowing 413 total yards to Central Private.