NATCHEZ — No late-game heroics stole the show in Trinity Episcopal’s second matchup with Centreville Academy this past Friday in the second round of the MAIS Class AA playoffs.

After beating Centreville 33-28 on a last-second play back in August, Trinity utilized its many athletes and attacked the Tigers’ secondary relentlessly in a 39-19 Saints win.

Saints head coach David King said his team seemed to have a different mindset coming into Friday’s game with Centreville than the one back in August.

“I think the attitude of this team (was different),” King said. “This team has been through so much from day one, but we’re the two-time defending state champions. You play ball when the chips are down.”

Trinity tallied 312 yards passing, and Centreville head coach Bill Hurst said he was very impressed by the amount of athleticism the Saints’ squad had.

“They just have athletes everywhere you look,” Hurst said. “They have kids that can make plays any time, and they came with a different mentality (Friday night).

“The quarterback (Scott Turner) just buys time, and he throws the ball, and they have good receivers. I talked to the referees, and they called the Jackson Prep-Madison Ridgeland game last week, and they said this is by far the best, most athletic team they saw.”

Turner was actually the leading rusher for Trinity, running for 58 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown run of 8 yards. King said he wanted to show the Tigers some different looks than Trinity usually shows.

“We wanted to try to establish the run inside, and when they got some extra guys out of the box we were able to run some quarterback draws, which was very effective,” King said.

Despite the big win against Centreville, King maintained high respect for Hurst and the Tigers program.

“My hat’s off to Bill, he’s the best coach in the state, like I always say, and he’s a dear friend of mine,” King said. “Our kids, this has become a rivalry, and quite honestly, it’s just two of the best programs around, and it was a great game.”

Trinity (11-2) will play at undefeated Simpson Academy next Friday for the South State title.

Cathedral High School

The Green Wave had no problems in the first round of the MHSAA Class 1A playoffs, beating West Oktibbeha 43-8.

Cathedral had 193 yards rushing and 422 passing, and running back Jadarius Ealey had four touchdown runs. Green Wave head coach Ron Rushing said it was important for his team to be versatile on offense, especially in the postseason.

“I think other teams a lot of times are preparing for what we do on offense, and they have to work more on defense, and that’s time that they can’t work on offense,” Rushing said.

“It’s nice calling plays, because with a nice mix, you can change it up.”

Cathedral (11-1) will host Nanih Waiya High School Friday night.