WAYNESBORO — Wayne County was ready for (3-4) Natchez High School Friday night.

After Natchez pulled off a 27-14 win against South Jones, the Bulldogs traveled to take on Wayne County in another district showdown. The War Eagles didn’t allow Natchez any time to settle into the district clash, though, jumping all over the Bulldogs and beating them 52-0.

“They wanted it more than we did,” Natchez head coach Henry Garner said. “We evidently weren’t ready.”

Garner said Wayne County came out running the football and scored three touchdowns in the first quarter on short fields. Because Natchez was pinned back deep in its own territory and the Bulldogs were unable to shift field position with punts, Wayne County started its first three drives inside Natchez High’s 30-yard line.

Meanwhile, freshman quarterback Paul Hargrave was unable to get into any rhythm in his first high school start. Hargrave was forced to start after sophomore quarterback Chris Scott was ejected against South Jones for fighting in the third quarter and ruled ineligible for the Wayne County contest.

“Paul did fairly well,” Garner said. “He had a couple of bad throws, some interceptions that went for scores. But I think a lot of that had to do with nervousness and the speed of the game.”

To account for Scott’s absence, Garner put in some offensive wrinkles where starting wide receiver Malik Byrd and starting safety Shavoke Herrington would play quarterback in a wildcat-type situation. Garner said the formation had a little success in the second half.

“It helped us out some, but our blocking bit us,” Garner said. “We couldn’t get through the gaps like we should have, and when the gaps were there, we overran it and ran outside.”

Garner quickly turned his attention to hosting Wingfield Friday after the loss.

“We’ll bounce back,” Garner said. “This group is resilient. We’re still a work in progress. We still have to mature.”