The Trinity Episcopal Saints will seek to end a five-game losing streak as they host the Claiborne Academy Rebels for homecoming with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Friday.

This will be the MAIS District 3-A opener for Trinity Episcopal (1-5 overall). The Saints are coming off a tough loss at Class AA Prairie View Academy, 22-20.

“There’s not much to be pleased with coming off a loss. I guess I had a couple of guys who played pretty well. They played for four quarters. They didn’t quit. That was pleasing to me,” Saints head coach Graham Roberts said.

One of those players, Roberts said, was quarterback Sterling Yarbrough, who threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns. A lack of a running game alongside 15 penalties for 135 yards proved to be costly for Trinity.

“It’s (a) huge (factor). We’ve got to establish a running game if we’re going to win any games,” Roberts said.

Claiborne Academy (3-3, 1-0) is coming off a tough loss of its own on the road last week at Porter’s Chapel Academy, 13-9. This will be the last of four straight road games for the Rebels. In district play, they beat Union Christian Academy 29-28 on Sept. 8.

“They’re aggressive. They’re hungry for a district win,” Roberts said. “They’ve got a tough guy, No. 44 (Reed Anders), who’s one of their best athletes. He runs the ball hard. Defensively, they fly to the football. We’re going to have to pick up blocks on the offensive line.”

While a win over Claiborne Academy would give the Saints some much needed momentum, Roberts said he doesn’t think it would be considered an upset.

“We’ve got to play together as a team and play with discipline,” Roberts said.