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NATCHEZ — The Natchez High School Bulldogs will look to end a two-game losing this Friday night when they travel to Jackson to take on the Provine High School Rams at Hughes Field in an MHSAA Region 3-5A game.

Kickoff between Natchez High (5-4, 1-2) and Provine (1-8, 0-3) is slated for 7 p.m. The Bulldogs lost at Florence High School 21-6 last Friday night while the Rams fell at North Pike High School 36-8 last Friday night.

With a win, the Bulldogs will earn a berth in the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs, but will still be on the road in the first round. But first things first, Natchez High must take care of business and not take Provine lightly.

“We have to be locked in. If we win, we’re in the playoffs,” Bulldogs head coach Steve Davis said. “This is a chance for us to make it back to the playoffs. We’ll worry about seeding later. That was our mission. That was our goal, to make it to the playoffs. We were hoping to do better. Win Friday. That’s our main concern.”

Davis noted that Natchez High is as healthy as it has been in several weeks – which is good considering this is the final game of a three-game road trip for the Bulldogs.

“We’re getting a couple of guys back. We’re not as banged us as we were a few weeks ago. We’re about as healthy as can be expected right about now,” Davis said.

As for what the Bulldogs are working on in practice this week to get ready for the Rams, Davis said, “We’re working on us. Our focus is just mainly us. Last Friday, we had opportunities we did not capitalize (on). There is a disconnect between practice and the games we have to fix. I feel like working on us fixes that problem.”

Even though Provine has struggled this season, there a few things about the Rams on each side of the ball that concerns Davis.

“Offensively, they have pretty good speed. They are big. They can throw the ball than they have shown on film. Like us, they just haven’t made plays,” Davis said. “Defensively, they’ve got guys up front who play hard and play fast. That’s what has bothered us all year.”

When asked what kind of offense and defense Provine runs, Davis said, “Defensively, they’re a 4-2-5, cover-1, cover-3 defense. Offensively, they’re a spread, which is the first spread team we have faced in a while. We should match up with them. They like to run a lot of trips-sets. They run a lot of doubles. Occasionally, they run what we call a ‘jackhammer’, which is a hammer-back with two receivers to the same side of the field.”

Davis said it’s going to take a team effort for the Bulldogs to emerge victorious on the road against a Provine team desperate for a win Friday night.

“It’s all of us. Players, coaches. We have to be on it Friday night. All hands on deck,” Davis said.