When Cathedral High School football players peer across the field Friday night, they’ll see a familiar face patrolling the Brookhaven Academy sideline.

Ron Rushing took over the Cougars’ program this offseason after a successful six-year stint at Cathedral, which included three MHSAA region titles and a 2014 MHSAA Class 1A state championship.

In his brief time at Brookhaven, Rushing hasn’t been able to find the success he had at Cathedral as his squad enters Friday 0-3 and has been shut out in two of their contests.

Despite the early-season struggles, the Cougars’ coach said his team is not far off.

“We’re just building this thing,” Rushing said. “The kids are working hard. The upperclassmen are laying the foundation and getting after it. I see a lot of positive things happening this year.”

Yet the familiarities between Cathedral and Brookhaven don’t end there.

First-year Cathedral head coach Chuck Darbonne and Rushing share a friendship that dates back to when Darbonne served as an assistant at Terry High School. Darbonne said he has leaned on Rushing’s experience to help guide him through his coaching career.

“It’ll be the first time I’ve coached against a friend of mine as a head coach,” Darbonne said. “We’ve shared ideas and he’s helped me through the years and different situations that I could always call him about. He’s somebody I could always go to for advice.”

The Greenwave (1-2) enter Friday’s tilt with struggles of their own, losers of their past two contests.

“The biggest thing for us is playing four quarters of quality football,” Darbonne said. “We’ve got to put four quarters in a row, but the kids are focused.”

Darbonne said what he’s seen on film from Rushing and his squad is a team that plays with effort throughout, but perhaps a lack of depth has caught up to them.

“They only play about 14-15 players a game, and they’re playing every snap, and they’re busting it,” Darbonne said. “They’re helping each other and there’s a lot of camaraderie. They’re getting coached hard and playing through the whistle.”

Rushing said he’s seen strong similarities from what the Greenwave are doing this year compared to what they’ve run under his regime.

“They’re real fundamentally sound,” he said. “They’re trying to find the right matchups.”

Rushing said while he’s looking forward to seeing old friends and former players, it will be all business come kickoff.

“When the lights turn on, it doesn’t matter if that’s my mother on the other side, I’m trying to win,” Rushing said. “I’m trying to get my kids to be successful.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Brookhaven Academy.