NATCHEZ &045; It was a far cry from last year’s 73-60 high-scoring shootout, but for the second consecutive year Cathedral beat Stringer, this time holding on for a 12-6 victory in which neither team scored in the final 30 minutes of play.

Cathedral didn’t play well but played well enough to win. The defense showed impressive toughness, holding the Red Devils scoreless in the second half.

Stringer managed just two first downs and 46 yards of total offense.

&uot;Our defense did a good job of holding them when we had to in the second half,&uot; Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;We should have scored a few more points, I thought.&uot;

The Cathedral offense came out strong, taking advantage of a Stringer fumble to punch the ball in from just 31 yards out. Quarterback Patrick McDonough connected with running back Andrew Ellard on a 29-yard completion that gave the Green Wave an early 6-0 lead.

The Red Devils fought back with a varied offense that used three different running backs and two wide receivers on a 76-yard drive capped off with a six-yard touchdown run from speedy running back Chris Garner.

That score tied the game at 6-6.

The Green Wave answered with another scoring drive, this one finished off by a three-yard touchdown dive from Daniel Hollowell, giving Cathedral a 12-6 lead midway through the second quarter. Neither team would score again.

Stringer head coach Tim Yeager said his team has suffered a number of injuries, taking away its top wide receiver and several defensive starters.

&uot;We had Mount Olive last week and they really crippled us up,&uot; Yeager said. &uot;We had to patch it up here and there. Half the defense is gone, so I had to switch it up and try to guess where they were going.&uot;

The Green Wave was lucky to come away with the win. Missed assignments on offense, mediocre special teams play and two personal foul penalties hurt the Green Wave badly. And with only a six-point lead, any mistake in the second half could have cost Cathedral the game.

&uot;We won the game. We played just good enough to win tonight,&uot; Cathedral’s Andrew Ellard said. &uot;We made a lot of mental mistakes, but we got some breaks here at the end and won.&uot;

Ellard had a huge game, leading the Green Wave in rushing with 91 yards and adding 44 yards receiving, two interceptions on defense and a touchdown.

He also accounted for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he taunted an opposing player after a long run.

&uot;We just didn’t play with the same intensity we had last week,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We also didn’t play very smart. Some of the penalties, we were just running our mouths. In a close ballgame, that can be the difference.&uot;

The Green Wave has fought its way back into the playoff picture with a 3-3 record in region play. With a game Thursday against Salem, the Green Wave has a chance to make another move up. Salem is in third place in Region 4-1A; Cathedral is fourth.

&uot;We’re back in the playoff hunt,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;If we can go up next week and beat (Salem), that puts us in a good position.&uot;