Practicing football in Southwest Mississippi in the cold means you’ve done something right.

Southern football is known for sweaty linebackers and heat stroke, not running backs in sweatshirts and hoodies.

But the chilly predicament is exactly where the Natchez High football players and coaches found themselves Tuesday afternoon.

And they weren’t complaining.

The Bulldogs are playing in the postseason. They’ve won their first playoff game — the first win of its kind in more than a decade — and they are focused on game two.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday against Oak Grove.

The temperature will be, oh, about 45 degrees.

But team spirit will keep you warm.

Natchez High football has seen the cold cellar floor in recent years.

In 2004 — when head coach Lance Reed was hired — the Bulldogs hadn’t seen a winning season in six years.

From 2001 to 2003, NHS went a whopping 2-31.

In 2003 they led their class — Mississippi’s largest, 5A — in being awful.

Then Reed was hired and a little spark of hope started burning somewhere under the giant, nearly empty bleachers at Tom F. Williams Stadium.

The boys looked better than they had in years past, but obviously such a goal didn’t take much.

In 2005, they broke even, 5-5.

In 2006, they took it one further, 6-5.

And last year, the Bulldogs were only a game away from the playoffs.

The progression has almost been too perfect, except for one thing — this year.

Natchez High made the playoffs, but was expected to lose last week against Petal. But the Bulldogs had other ideas and pulled out a win in the game’s final minutes.

They’ve skipped a step. Not only did NHS make the playoffs this year, they won their first game. And they’ll tell you they aren’t done yet.

For years, supporters of the public schools have complained that the community has had nothing to rally around. Athletics were sub par. Many students attend private schools. And nothing about Natchez High pulled us all together.

But that’s faulty thinking.

Natchez High touches more people in the Miss-Lou than any other school. Its enrollment is easily the largest in our area.

But even if you don’t go there or have kids there now, odds are you are a graduate of NHS — either north or south — yourself.

And even if neither of those categories touch you, your tax dollars touch Natchez High.

This is our school, our athletic program, our football team and our playoffs.

Cathedral and Adams County Christian School football teams failed to have winning seasons.

Trinity played hard, but is sitting home this week.

Vidalia and Ferriday are done. Huntington just missed playing on.

Though Centreville will play just south of us, only one Miss-Lou football field will shine Friday night. And the players on the field, cold as it may be, need you in the stands.

The bleachers at NHS are enormous. Their height and width leaves plenty of room for new or returning fans.

These boys have earned our support and given us something to rally around.

What a sight it would be Friday night to see shoulder to shoulder people at Tom F. Williams Stadium, white faces, black faces, Trinity students, AC coaches.

For four quarters, our community could become one.

And for Lance Reed and the boys, the message would be one of overwhelming support.

With that kind of support, I bet it’s hard to lose.

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