NATCHEZ — Take a look at the picture above. In it, you see Cathedral running back Jeb White rounding the corner bracing for impact from a charging Dexter defender late in the third quarter.

What you don’t see is the actual hit. But you can imagine it. However, it wasn’t the defender — Chris Conerly — doling out the punishment, as you might expect, it was White.

White hit Conerly so hard, the Dexter player’s helmet shot off his head and flew about five yards backwards.

“I smelled the blood and I went for it,” White said of his crushing hit. “I play a little different than most people. I don’t want to score touchdowns, I want to hurt somebody.”

That play personified Cathedral’s workmanlike 23-0 win over the Bulldogs Thursday night.

There was nothing flashy or pretty about it. Just line up and take it to them on both sides of the football.

“That’s the first shutout we’ve had probably in about four or five years,” Cathedral head coach Craig Beesley said. “I can’t remember the last shutout we’ve had so it’s good to have a shutout in coach (Jeremy) Loy’s first game as defensive coordinator.”

The Green Wave defense dominated the Bulldogs at the line of scrimmage all night long. They forced three turnovers and delivered Cathedral the first nine points of the game.

The scoreless tie was broken midway through the second quarter when Dexter quarterback Tyler Hart fumbled the shotgun snap from center inside the Bulldogs’ 5-yard-line.

He picked up the fumble, but Cathedral’s Adam Kaiser hit him, causing him to fumble the ball out the back of the end zone for a safety.

The score remained that way until the final seconds of the first half.

Dexter was forced to punt from inside its 5-yard-line and the Cathedral broke through and blocked it. Zac Arnold fell on the loose ball in the end zone for the touchdown with just four seconds left in the half.

“That gave us a big boost and made us go harder (in the second half),” Arnold said. “It was a big turnaround.”

Cathedral came out in the second half with a different offensive game plan.

They had thrown the ball much of the first half, with little to show for it. In the second half, they were just going to run it down Dexter’s throat.

The constant running paid off as Jeb White gave the Green Wave a cushion with a 30-yard touchdown run around the left end on the first play of the first quarter.

The Green Wave dominated the time of possession in the fourth quarter, running 18 plays to Dexter’s 10 plays.

“The second half I think we wore them down running the ball straight at them and that was the key,” Beesley said. “It was a good thing for us to be able to do.”

The Cathedral defense continued to do its part, forcing three Dexter turnovers in the second half.

Stowers Mohon, Jeb White and Semmes White recovered fumbles for the Green Wave.

Jeb White put the finishing touches on the victory with a 1-yard touchdown run with a minute left in the game.

White finished the game with 115 yards on 15 carries with the two touchdowns.

“Jeb White is tough,” Beesley said. “He runs the ball hard and gets his pads below the defensive linebackers. He’s a load.”