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NATCHEZ — The Cathedral High School Green Wave will look to get back on the winning track when they host the Copiah Academy Colonels in their MAIS District 3-5A opener Friday night at D’Evereaux Stadium.

Kickoff between Copiah Academy (4-2, 0-1) and Cathedral (3-3, 0-0) is slated for 7 p.m. The Colonels are coming off a 35-0 loss at home to Class 6A powerhouse Jackson Preparatory School. The Green Wave lost at archrival St. Aloysius High School 28-27.

Cathedral head coach Chuck Darbonne said he expects the intensity to be high in practice this week as the Green Wave gets ready for its district opener. He added that there are some things that need to be cleaned up this week.

“I expect us to be hungry during these four days of practice,” Darbonne said. “We have to correct a lot of the mistakes that cost us last Friday. Tackling. We missed a lot of tackles. Offensive assignments. Not knowing where to go (hurt us against St. Aloysius).”

Darbonne said that he wants to see the same focus and intensity the Green Wave had the previous three weeks that led to their three-game winning streak — not only in practice, but come game time Friday night.

“I want to see the focus and intensity from the previous three weeks that we were locked in and prepared. We need to get that fight and that hunger back this week,” Darbonne said.

Copiah Academy played its first district game of the 2021 season back on Friday, Sept. 10 at home to Oak Forest Academy, 42-27.

And despite being shut out by Jackson Prep, Darbonne said that he is concerned about the confidence the Colonels are playing with. He noted that the offense the run is similar to that of Cathedral’s.

“They like to run the ball. They’ll try to hit the big plays. They have a good quarterback and a good running back. A couple of good receivers. On defense, they’re very aggressive. You have to win your one-on-one matchups. You have to create big plays,” Darbonne said.

The Green Wave’s defense will have to force turnovers to give their offense good field position and scoring opportunities. 

As for what else concerns him the most about the Colonels, Darbonne said, “They’re able to execute efficiently. They are aggressive and have good athletes. They don’t turn the ball over. They don’t beat themselves. They tackle well in space.”

In order for Cathedral to get back to defeat Copiah Academy, Darbonne said the Green Wave will have to get back to the fundamentals and play with better technique, both offensively and defensively.

“Take care of the little things. If we take care of the little things each and every day, the big things will happen,” Darbonne said.