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NATCHEZ — Cathedral’s only senior, Joseph Garrity, collapsed on the ground Thursday night.

His former teammate Paxton Junkin urged him on from the stands.

“Come on Garrity. You can push through it,” Junkin said.

His hands were on his head, and he was breathing heavily. Cathedral was down 6-1 to Brookhaven Academy with 3 minutes left. The line ref walked over to Garrity to make sure he was alright.

“I’m not hurt, just gassed,” Garrity said.

He had spent the whole night covering nearly every single blade of grass for the Green Wave. He created opportunities out of nothing from his determination to get the ball. He won two corner kicks by saving the ball from rolling out of bounds. His long strides allowed him to make up ground.

He was physical, tenacious and a little emotionally charged at the end. Garrity, who typically plays goalie, embodied what head coach Dennis Hogue was looking for from his team. Hogue said it was their best game all year and their most physical one.

“I haven’t played a full game of midfield since 9th grade,” Garrity said. “As the only senior, I was trying to be the best leader I could be. I was running everywhere and doing what I could.”

The Green Wave had to switch up tactics because they struggled to score goals since Christmas break. Grayson Guedon was also out sick, and the Green Wave had to move Jacob Moore up top.

Garrity gave a shoutout to Chance Bertleson, who stepped up in goal and made some crucial saves. His best save was on a one versus one opportunity in the second half. The other was a hustle play as he ran back to his goal line to keep a follow-up shot out of the bottom left corner in the first half. He acknowledged Drew

Thompson’s efforts on the backline as he worked to hold down the fort.

The Green Wave are starting several young players, but they have shown growth this season. Striker Jacob Moore is making a name for himself as a calm goal-scoring machine.

He tucked a shot into the bottom right corner in the second half to cut the lead to 3-1. Brookhaven Academy’s goalkeeper had gone the wrong way.

“Our plan was for me to stay on the last defender and make a run across and cut n. John Carter Austin made a beautiful pass,” Moore said. “I made a touch and kept going. I saw the keeper go left and the goal opened to the right, so I kicked it in. I thought if we got a second goal, we would have had a chance to come back. I was never going to give up.”

Cathedral’s season is nearly halfway complete. They have one game against Brookhaven Academy, Copiah Academy, and Oak Forest, and two against Adams County Christian School.

Garrity is not as worried about the team’s playoff hopes. This district is one of the strongest it has ever been. It was a shell shock, he said.

Instead, he is shifting his focus to the young guns coming up through the ranks. This past week, he took the time to work with Chance to get him ready for the game. He was once that same young goalie, baptized by fire.

“We have played well, but we have not gotten to our full potential yet,” Garrity said. “We have to build off of tonight. We have to keep building on it. My goal now is to help the future players get there. I want to help the team for the future.”