NATCHEZ — Cathedral Green Wave fans can expect No. 22 dressed and ready to compete in the opening round of the playoffs tonight.

Dee Fleming, who has carried the load on the ground for the Green Wave the past two seasons, will be in action as Bowling Green looks to upset Cathedral in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools playoffs. Fleming, who sprained his ankle against Adams County Christian School, had his ankle rolled again in a victory against Columbia Academy last week. Fleming rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game in the second quarter.

“It was more precautionary than anything last Friday,” Rushing said. “He ran great Friday.”

With Fleming back, many expect the Green Wave to roll in the opening round of the playoffs, but Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing isn’t overlooking a Bowling Green squad that is 6-3 on the season.

“They’re athletic, and they do a good job,” Rushing said. “Their kids are in the right places, and they’re fundamental. They have some good size up front and have some athletes. If you overlook these guys, they’ll end your season.”

To account for Bowling Green’s athletes — a mobile quarterback in Jordan Barnes and a deep threat in Cameron Cowart — Rushing is hoping his defense can build off of a 38-6 victory against Columbia Academy, where the defense limited Columbia to 190 total yards and forced three turnovers.

“What scares me about (Barnes) is he has a little wiggle in him,” Rushing said. “If he gets out in the open, he can make some guys miss. We carry over last week’s effort into this week, and we’ll have a chance.”

Cathedral, which has operated in the spread for most of Rushing’s tenure at the school, will also feature some looks under-center on offense, a switch Rushing made to try and create more offensive flow.

“We haven’t clicked all year the way we wanted to,” Rushing said. “I got to thinking. If we go under center, we can get the snap better and get (Connor’s) eyes down the field faster.”

The Green Wave will look to advance to the second round tonight as they host Bowling Green at 7 p.m.