NATCHEZ — Cathedral High School’s defense forced five turnovers and held Hillcrest Christian School to minus-nine yards of total offense as the Green Wave rolled to a 34-0 win over the Cougars Friday night at D’Evereux Stadium in the MAIS District 4-4A opener for both teams.

As for who stood out for Cathedral, head coach Chuck Darbonne said, “Landon Lees, Kaden Batieste, Bryson Moore, and Jack Russ. Most of it was on defense. Jack Russ led our offense.”

And most of the turnovers occurred deep in Hillcrest territory, leading to short fields and easier opportunities for the Green Wave to find the end zone. They did so twice in both the first and second quarters en route to a 28-0 halftime lead. The Cougars (0-4, 0-1) had trouble moving the ball in the first half, but Darbonne said they had a little more success doing so in the second half. Yet they finished with minus-15 yards rushing and just six yards passing and only two first downs.

“We put a lot of pressure on their quarterback. They weren’t able to run the ball,” Darbonne said. “They had a lot of turnovers. That’s how we got our 34 points.

The Green Wave finished off the shutout win with a touchdown late in the third quarter. But despite the lopsided score, Darbonne was not pleased with the offense as a whole, not even with having more wide receivers for quarterback J.T. Taylor to throw to.

“We didn’t move the ball well at all,” Darbonne said.

Cathedral (2-1, 1-0) hosts district opponent River Oaks School Friday at 7 p.m.