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NATCHEZ — Coming off a tougher-than-expected win last Friday night over a struggling North Pike High School team in the MHSAA Region 3-5A opener for both teams, the opposition for Natchez High School will be even tougher this week.

The Natchez High Bulldogs (5-2, 1-0) will travel to Ellisville to take on the South Jones High School Braves (5-2, 1-0) in a battle of two of the top three teams in Region 3-5A right now. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.

The Bulldogs held on for a 21-17 homecoming game win over the North Pike Jaguars last Friday night while the Braves traveled to Jackson and took care of the Provine High School Rams 42-6 last Friday night. And while there was one side of the ball Natchez High head coach Steve Davis was pleased with coming out of last week’s game, the other side continues to leave him baffled.

“I’m most pleased with the defense and how we have settled in more. We’re giving up fewer points. Tackling is something we have to work on. That side of the ball has improved from week to week,” Davis said. “What I’m really concerned about is the level of inconsistency on offense. Whey we can’t sustain and finish drives.”

As for what the Bulldogs are working on in practice this week, Davis said, “The focus this week is tackling better. Blocking better up front. And getting cadence and timing down with our receivers. Defensively, we have to tackle better. We have to make sure we put pads on people; to be more aggressive; and set that tempo from the start by punishing people.”

This will indeed be a much-improved South Jones team from the one Natchez High faced a home last year in which the Bulldogs won 36-0 in giving the Braves what was the third of five straight losses. That’s not the case in 2024 as the Braves are on a three-game winning streak and have momentum on their side.

“South Jones is scrappy, just like our last three opponents. They come out and they’re going to play hard-nosed football up front. They bring a lot of positive energy. We have to match that,” Davis said. “They are a bunch that will play for 48 minutes. Kind of like last week. North Pike came out and got a little momentum going. That made it tougher for us. If we stay focused, we should be okay.”

When asked what kind of defense and offense does South Jones incorporate, Davis said, “Defensively, we expect to see a 4-3, 2-high safety look. They’re not going to do a lot of blitzing. They’re going to keep seven in the box to keep us from running the ball. Offensively, they are a multiple tight-end set team. You have to know where he is on the field and set the strength and make the right calls.”

Davis said that the linebacking corps and the passing game will have to be better than it was last week for Natchez High to pull off a huge Region 3-5A win on the road – especially considering that this is the first of three straight region road games for the Bulldogs.

“Our linebackers, Jeremiah Tillery, Micah Moore, and Christian Edney. They need to be solid in the box. Offensively, we have to be able to be consistent in the pass game. From blocking up front to running the right routes to making the right reads. As I told them all week, we have to win outside,” Davis said.