Football fields come only in one-size-fits all.

But outside the end zones life can get unfair.

The smaller the school the worse the lighting is. The bigger the school, the bigger the stadium will be.

From concession stands to locker rooms, quality and equality varies widely across the Miss-Lou.

But every once in a while, a good idea can level the playing field — or at least the stuff around it.

Friday night, athletes from Cathedral and Trinity got a preseason workout under the best lights and surrounded by the area’s biggest stadium.

The two private schools were a part of the Natchez High School Jamboree, along with neighbor to the south, Wilkinson County.

But much more important to the players and coaches than the physical atmosphere was the mental preparation Friday night offered.

It was the first time this season local teams had the chance to play someone other than themselves. It gave coaches a final checklist of things to improve upon, and it gave the players a good shot of competition-driven adrenaline that they’ll learn to use and control this fall.

No out-of-town travel was needed, a fact that surely made principals and money counters smile.

And staying at home also meant the local fans got a taste of the football for which we all seem to live.

But lights and concession stands aside, what three local schools did Friday night is the model so many other local agencies, groups and governments are trying to follow.

Instead of working independently, driving out-of-town or playing solo, NHS, Cathedral and Trinity came together for something better.

It’s regionalism. It’s unity. It’s just being smart.

NHS coach Lance Reed thinks so.

“I think it’s a start to new things that should go on all the time around here,” Reed said. “I said once before, we’re one community and we should do things to help each other and make each other better.”

So does Trinity’s coach David King.

“I’d like to congratulate Natchez High,” King said. “We’ve had a blast. Lance Reed and (Bulldogs athletic director) Fred Butcher are to be commended for having a quality jamboree.”

The jamboree was the second time this month that the schools have led the way in the right direction.

On Aug. 3, Trinity, Cathedral, Adams County Christian and the Natchez-Adams schools joined forced for a joint teacher convocation to start the school year.

Such leadership from our schools is exactly what this community needs.

What our educators teach will carry on for generations, we know.

With the jamboree behind us, and all local schools back on their home turf, Friday night will kick-off the 2009 football season for most local schools. Only a few local schools will cross paths again during the regular season, and appropriately on not-so-friendly terms then.

But competition doesn’t have to mean the local coalition is gone until the summer.

I hope we’ll continue to see our local teams work together to make football in the Miss-Lou simply unbeatable.

Good luck to all.

Julie Cooper is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.