NATCHEZ — The Natchez High Bulldogs and first-year head coach Melvin Pete have experienced many bumps in the road. But, the Bulldogs will be looking to end their season on a bright note in a matchup at Wingfield tonight.

Natchez (4-6) is coming off a 63-24 loss to Pearl River Central, while Wingfield (1-9) enters the game off a 34-16 loss to Brookhaven, their ninth straight loss after a win in the opening week of the season.

Despite Wingfield’s 1-9 record, Pete isn’t going to chalk this one up in the win column for the Bulldogs just yet.

“They’ve got athletes all over the field,” Pete said. “Their quarterback scrambles a lot, which we have problems with.”

Stopping the run was tough for Natchez against Pearl River Central, with the Bulldogs giving up 407 yards on the ground. But Pete said he was able to take away some positives from the game.

“We are going to have to get more physical, bottom line,” he said. “We just have to get a mindset about being physical and playing in those type of ballgames. When your team isn’t strong, they don’t want those physical battles. It doesn’t have a good recipe.”

Pete also pointed to the school’s classification as one of the reasons the Bulldogs have struggled this season.

“In 5A, it is more of a beat them up type conference,” Pete said. “With 6A being more finesse, 5A, we are going to beat you up. You have to be prepared. We need to change to that 5A mentality.”

Even though Natchez’s season will come to an end tonight, there have been plenty of bright spots for the Bulldogs this year, headlined by the emergence of freshman quarterback Chris Scott.

“I’m finding out he is more of a gamer than advertised,” Pete said. “You look at a young kid and he throws some temper tantrums, but they are for the right reasons. Meaning, he wants to win games and gets upset with himself, because he can’t help the team. He wants to be a perfectionist, and in ninth grade, that is tough because of the speed of the game. He is going to have to get bigger, faster and stronger.”

Scott has been on a roll in the Bulldogs’ last two games, tossing eight touchdowns, despite his team taking losses.