As impressive as their 51-0 hammering of an under-manned Cathedral squad was, Mize knows the task at hand.

Nothing short of a state championship, and the Bulldogs have plenty motivation for it.

It all goes back to last year when the Bulldogs battled Scott Central &045; who defeated Cathedral in the first round of the playoffs &045; down to nine seconds left in the South State championship before Scott Central came through with a field goal to win it.

Scott Central then went on to the state championship, leaving Mize and its class of 14 juniors wondering what might have been.

&uot;We’ve talked about it, and we said we wanted to go this season nine seconds farther than we did last year,&uot; Mize head coach Kenny Robinson said. &uot;But it’s going to be hard. We’ve got Scott Central, Pelahatchie and all those guys up there. We’re going to have to play extremely well from here on out. We know it’s going to be an uphill battle, but we’ll take it one game at a time.&uot;

Even though the Bulldogs may have a bitter taste in their mouth from last year, this season’s bunch should have a better chance at getting there. The Bulldogs have size on both sides of the ball, enough quality running backs to give any defensive coordinator a headache and 14 seniors.

Those 14 seniors could have beaten Cathedral Friday night by themselves they’re so good. And no disrespecting the Green Wave &045; injuries and lack of depth at skill positions just made for a long night Friday.

&uot;We’ve got another tough one next week,&uot; CHS head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said of his club’s contest at Mount Olive. &uot;What’s hurting us right now is we’ve got so many key players that are out. That’s all we can do &045; continue to work hard in practice. That’s all I can ask of our kids.

&uot;We were just out-classed tonight. Even if we could have been healthy, we would have had a hard time stopping them.&uot;

The biggest damage Friday night wasn’t from Ducksworth but instead the entire offense. Ducksworth hurt the Green Wave early as he scored the first time he touched the ball and broke a 46-yard run on his second carry.

After that there were times the Green Wave defense had Ducksworth wrapped up &045; only he didn’t have the ball. Tony Agee ran a couple excellent fakes off Ducksworth and turned them into sizeable gains.

&uot;The thing I’m more pleased with than anything is we’re running our fakes a lot better,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;Last year we didn’t run our fakes well. It just opens things up. That’s what we figured they would try to do. They expected (Ducksworth) to run the ball, but you can use him as a decoy.&uot;

Speaking of Ducksworth, the little back with huge cut-back ability didn’t have to do that much damage Friday night. He had just four carries, but he still netted more than 100 yards as he continues to get stronger despite that tiny frame.

He’s not too far from the 5-4 he was listed last season, but the junior’s improved strength has given opponents headaches.

&uot;He’s about 165 pounds, but he benched 330 in the spring and squatted 450,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;He’s a strong kids and runs about a 4.5. He’s a little more stout. I hope by next year he can get a little more bulk, get up to 175 and maybe have a chance to go somewhere.&uot;

BAD BREAK &045; Dustin Case is about a tough a football player as there is in the Miss-Lou. That’s why, seconds after breaking his arm in the second quarter Friday night, he walked off the field holding his arm in his good hand.

As Case walked off the field repeating &uot;My arm is broken,&uot; he was right. His forearm was bent at an unnatural angle halfway down its length. AC head coach Keith Walters confirmed said tests validated the assessment and ended the senior’s season.

&uot;More than just losing a player like Dustin, it was all the things he did,&uot; Walters said. &uot;He was our running back, wide receiver, kick returner, safety and punter. We really had to shuffle some guys around just to cover those positions. I was just so proud of the way the guys came together and overcame some adversity.&uot;

The Rebels, however, rallied in his absence to pick up the win and stay undefeated in district. Heath Williams and Lee Dellinger combined for 113 yards out of the backfield.

INJURY UPDATE &045; Jefferson County is still learning to play without its star player, and it hasn’t been by choice. Ernest Havard broke a bone in his leg two weeks ago and had surgery on Monday up in Jackson.

The injury ended his season and put a damper on his hopes of playing at the next level. Havard (6-1, 205) could play at running back or linebacker and had a number of programs interested &045; Alcorn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Southeastern Louisiana and Delta State.

&uot;There are a lot of colleges asking about him,&uot; JC head coach Jeffrey Harness said. &uot;He’s qualified. I look forward to him having a successful college career. You’ve got to be able to overcome (an injury). If he works hard, he’s got a promising future ahead of him.

&uot;The thing about it is, he’s never been hurt seriously before. I think he’s the kind of person that will take this as a learning lesson.&uot;

Christian Schmidt contributed to this report.