NATCHEZ &045; After suffering tough losses to North Pike and Warren Central, the Natchez High Lady Bulldogs finally picked up their first win of the season Friday night as they defeated Loyd Star 5-0.

Sarah Weaver scored two goals in the first half and nearly had a third one in the second half that teammate Jadtrl Heard knocked in from close range that gave Natchez a 3-0 lead.

Weaver’s first goal occurred at the 11th minute of the first half on a direct kick from about 35 yards out. The kick went over the Loyd Star goalkeeper’s hands and just under the crossbar. Her second goal was at the 29th minute from almost the same spot.

In the ninth minute of the second half, Weaver took a shot on goal from about 30 yards out and the Lady Hornets keeper thought it went in after hitting the crossbar. Instead it went straight down and Heard was in the right place at the right time for the easy goal and the 3-0 lead.

At the 20 minute of the half, Shamika Herrington, on a breakaway down the sideline, passed the ball to Heard as Herrington was approaching the box. Heard passed it right back to Herrington, who made the goal in stride as the keeper had no chance to make the save.

The final goal of the game occurred at the 29th minute of the second half as Natchez midfielder Ashley Haley fed the ball into the middle. Heard and one of the Lady Hornets players were battling for the ball when it bounced right to Jessica Evans, who knocked it into the goal.

Loyd Star boys 3, Natchez 0

NATCHEZ &045; The Bulldogs were unable to convert on their shots on goal and while goalkeeper Jeremy Buckles had a good game, the Hornets were able to score enough goals to win the game.

&uot;We must have had a dozen shots on goal,&uot; NHS head coach Dennis Hogue said. &uot;Ross Smith had six or seven shots on goal. Brandon Lewis had a couple. Unfortunately, when they (Loyd Star) had the shots on goal, they were able to make three of them. They moved the ball better than we did.&uot;

Nicholas James scored on a corner kick to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. Trevor Portrey then scored on an attempted defensive clear by Natchez in which the ball bounced off a Bulldog player, then off the hip of a Hornets player, then right to Portrey, who knocked it in for a 2-0.

Then Cass Sellers scored a goal that could have been called a penalty on him.

&uot;Our keeper (Buckles) stretched out on the ground,&uot; Hogue said. &uot;He reached around one player and was reaching for the ball. I didn’t think he had control of the ball and Cass kicked it out of his hand and it went in. It could’ve gone either way.&uot;

Cathedral girls 2, Wesson 1

WESSON &045; Sixty minutes of regulation play was not enough to determine the winner of this game, which just happened not only be the season opener for the Lady Green Wave but also the Division 7 opener.

In the second overtime Alana Malone scored on a direct shot to win the game for the Lady Green Wave.

Kate Ellard scored first for Cathedral on a direct shot in the first half for a 1-0 lead, but Wesson’s Amber Bowman scored in the second half for a 1-1 score. Both teams played good defense the rest of the second half to send the game to two 10-minute overtimes.

&uot;Our defense did real well,&uot; Cathedral head coach Christine Krupa said. &uot;They were hustling. They did a fantastic job. We dominated the first half. We had seven shots on goal. They dominated the second half. We had two shots on goal and they had seven.

&uot;Abby Brown was in goal, and she did a great job. She made several good saves. This was her first game as keeper.&uot;

Cathedral boys 5, Wesson 2

WESSON &045; Blase Gaude had one of the best games of his career with three goals, Taylor Brantley scored a goal and Andy Taunton had a goal and two assists to the lead the Green Wave to victory in their season opener.

Cathedral jumped out to a 2-0 lead at halftime as Brantley scored five minutes into the game and Gaude scored the first of three straight goals for Cathedral (1-0, 1-0). The Green Wave needed that start as the Cobras played better in the second half, but not good enough to take the win.

&uot;One of Blas’s goals was a penalty kick following a handball in the box on Wesson,&uot; Cathedral head coach Rick Freeman said. &uot;We had about 15 shots on goal. They had only five or six shots on goal.&uot;

Freeman said he was a little bit concerned about how his team would play, especially with first game of the season being a game.

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Patrick Jones