Natchez High School coach Roy Rigsby hollered at his offense as it jogged off the field during the second quarter of Friday night’s game against Wayne County High School.

“Show some fight. Show some fight,” he yelled.

His plea fell on deaf ears.

Wayne County flexed its championship pedigree, racking up 34 first-half points as the defending Class 5A champs soared past Natchez 45-6.

“That’s a good football team, and they played hard,” Rigsby said. “Our guys came out in the second half and fought. I’m proud of them for the fight that they gave.”

With starting quarterback and Louisiana-Lafayette commit Chris Scott sidelined because of a foot injury, the Bulldogs turned to backup quarterback Paul Hargrave.

The junior signal-caller played strongly in place of Scott, completing 11 of 25 passes for 125 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Natchez (1-7, 0-4), however, wasn’t able to aid its backup quarterback as the Bulldogs managed just five yards rushing.

Wayne County (4-4, 4-0) outgained Natchez for the game 310-130. The War Eagles led at halftime 34-6.

“It seems like we’re the type of team at this point that’s going to have to pass to be able to run,” Rigsby said. “We have a prolific passer, and we’re going to use him.”

Rigsby said he is hopeful Scott will return for next week’s game at Wingfield.

The Bulldogs got their lone score late in the first half after Travion McDuffie hauled in a 20-yard touchdown toss from Hargrave.

Rigsby said he was much more pleased with his team’s second-half performance, specifically the play of his defense which limited the War Eagles to 99 yards the final two periods.

“That’s a strong offensive line,” Rigsby said. “We knew we had to try get their offensive line on skates to be able to contend with them. (Defensive coordinator Dan) Smith did some alterations, and it was successful for the most part.”

Wayne County scored on its first three possessions of the game to build a 21-0 lead.

War Eagles quarterback Zabryan Jackson had scoring throws of 23 and 36 yards in addition to a four-yard scamper. His 36-yard scoring toss came with just 5 seconds left to play in the first half.

The Bulldogs have been outscored in their four region contests 177-57.

Natchez will attempt to notch its first region win next week at Wingfield.

The Falcons (4-4, 0-4) lost to South Jones Friday night, 41-38.

“We have to learn to be consistent,” Rigsby said. “(Wayne County) was consistent in the way they played. We’ve been up and down — first half, second half, we pick when we’re playing at full strength. My job and the rest of the coaching staff is to keep preaching ‘Play four quarters.’
Hopefully, it will catch on, and we’ll be successful.”