STARKVILLE — Ron Rushing fought human nature. With a 42-7 lead in the third quarter, Rushing wouldn’t allow himself, nor his team, to let up, but midway through the fourth quarter, the thought of being state champions steadily crept in the back of his mind.

“Let’s finish this game,” said Rushing, shouting to his team with three minutes to play, trying to hide his grin and hoping to evoke perfectionism.

As the clock struck zero, and Rushing was doused with an ice bath, he hugged his athletic director and assistant coach Craig Beesley as both men’s eyes began to fill with water.

After his team received the MHSAA Class A State Championship Trophy for beating St. Aloysius 49-14, Rushing lifted it with his players by his side, greeted after by a kiss from his wife Kappi Rushing, who told her husband how proud she was of his monumental win.

“It feels as good as I hoped it would,” said Rushing, on winning the first state championship in school history for Cathedral.

The contest was close for about a quarter. With a game plan designed to spread the ball to every playmaker and keep St. Aloysius guessing with motion calls, Rushing’s offense produced 415 yards of offense, with quarterback Wyatt Boothe providing five total touchdowns and Dee Fleming totaling 194 yards and a touchdown. With big plays from Fleming — a 61-yard run on the second drive of the game, a 61-yard reception in the second quarter and a 58-yard touchdown run that was called back for holding, Cathedral’s explosiveness on offense caught the attention of its opponent, audience and even Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen, who walked the sidelines during the game and cracked a smile at Fleming’s 58-yard run that was sparked by a stiff arm and broken tackle on the sideline. Fleming, with a medal wrapped around his neck after the game, had no idea who was watching him.

“Are you serious?” Fleming asked after the game. “I was in the zone. I was trying to win this game. I was not aware of that.”

Equally as dominant as Cathedral’s offense was the Green Wave’s defense that limited a 2,000-yard rusher in DeMichael Harris to 48 yards on 15 carries. Will Wallace, who recorded two sacks in the game, glanced up at the 152-foot wide big screen in Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium and gave himself a nod after making a tackle for loss.

“I thought it was cool to see myself,” Wallace said, laughing.

James Coley, who led the team in tackles with eight, came to the sideline in the fourth quarter, relishing in what he and his teammates had just accomplished.

“It didn’t hit me until we started pulling up,” Coley said. “I started shaking a little bit. It gets to you.”

As the team celebrated together and shared hugs with classmates and family, Fleming stood at midfield surrounded by cameras and media members wanting to talk to him. Humbly, Fleming gave credit to his teammates, proudly representing Cathedral’s first team to win a state championship.

“It’s a memory that we will never forget,” Fleming said.