Cathedral High School didn’t quite start its 2017 campaign the way it had hoped, but the Green Wave got the result it was searching for by the time its first game was over.

In its 49-24 victory, Cathedral outscored Brookhaven Academy 49-7 over the final three periods to erase a 17-point first-quarter deficit.

The Green Wave will aim to carry the momentum it built last week into Friday night’s home opener against Central Private.

“We just chipped away,” second-year CHS coach Chuck Darbonne said of last week’s victory. “We didn’t match their intensity to start the game, but we eventually outlasted them.”

Darbonne said Central Private will present a unique challenge as the Rebels run their offense from the Flexbone formation.

“It’s what Georgia Tech does,” Darbonne said. “You have to be very disciplined, and it’s a big change from what everybody else does. We have to be focused on our responsibilities and not chase the ball. So far during practice, we‘ve done a pretty good job of that.”

Central Private also enters Friday’s showdown riding high after rolling past Christian Home Educators Fellowship last week, 42-18.

Darbonne said the Rebels managed to impress offensively despite missing perhaps its top weapon offensively in senior Cole Averette.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound do-it-all athlete missed last week because of injury, and Darbonne said he thinks his status for Friday remains up in the air.

“He plays multiple positions for them, and we have to figure out where they might use him,” Darbonne said.

As for his own squad, Darbonne said Cathedral must protect the ball better after it fumbled six times, losing two, and turned the ball over four times total last week.

“We’re making that a priority,” he said.  “I love (running back) Greg (Moore), but he fumbled it three times, and (quarterback Ben) Foster threw a couple of interceptions. We have to value the ball more … That’s not going to win you many games in our district.”