NATCHEZ — Cathedral High School will honor both its seniors and its veterans tonight while battling for a playoff spot.

As the Green Wave (6-4, 4-3) play host to Dexter High School (3-6, 2-5) tonight, the school will host a pre-game ceremony recognizing its seniors, then switch gears for Military Appreciation Night.

The players will don camouflage jerseys and have the names of veterans for whom they’re honoring read over the PA system throughout the evening. Cathedral alumnus Daryl Woods, who played football at the Air Force Academy, will be recognized right before kickoff.

“It’s something these kids understand and want people to appreciate,” Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing said.

At the same time, Rushing said the players also understand that a loss tonight would effectively end his team’s playoff hopes.

“If we win out and Bowling Green beats Salem, then we’d get in,” Rushing explained. “But nothing happens without us winning (tonight), so it’s the playoffs from here on out for us.”

And Dexter, which has given Cathedral trouble in the past, brings a team that Rushing said is the “spitting image” of the last three Bulldogs squads Cathedral has faced.

“Their senior quarterback is 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, and he throws well, and they have some guys who can catch the ball,” Rushing said. “They always give us problems. We have to come out and play a good ball game.”

After beginning the season 5-1, Cathedral has gone 1-3 in the past four weeks, and Rushing said his team is running out of time to snap out of its current funk.

“We were throwing the ball well downfield before, and now we’re not completing shorter passes, so the long ball has suffered,” Rushing said. “We’re doing the same stuff, we’re just not executing, and I have to do a better job of play calling and putting us in a position to succeed.”

Rushing also said his team’s struggles in recent weeks aren’t necessarily a result of defenses scheming the Green Wave differently.

“Teams are doing the same things, we’re just not putting up the points we did earlier,” Rushing said. “We’ve seen a lot of zone (coverage) lately, and it’s man (defense) that usually gives us problems. We’ve just been in a funk since the Stringer game.”

Cathedral quarterback Thomas Garrity was recently announced as a state finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman award. Garrity said he had to submit a series of short essays about his community service, academic and athletic accomplishments. State winners will be announced Monday, according to the Wendy’s High School Heisman’s website.

“It felt like it did when I found out (I was ranked) on MaxPreps,” Garrity said about learning he was a finalist. “There are so many people in the state, and I’m one of the top ones? It’s crazy.”

The state winner is awarded $2,000 in scholarship money, while the national winner will be given $10,000 in scholarship money. But Garrity insisted that, for right now, all he can worry about is how he performs on the field tonight.

“I don’t worry about it,” Garrity said. “I won’t make it a big deal. If something happens, then let it be.”

Cathedral will kick off at 7 p.m. today.