NATCHEZ &045; Things indeed have not changed much at South Pike in the last decade or so.

At least, Natchez High head coach Lance Reed can attest to it. After his 13-year absence from the Miss-Lou following his playing days with the Bulldogs, he’s got the task of preparing his team to play at South Pike Friday night at MHSAA action enters Week 2.

Thirteen years later, the Eagles are not much different.

&uot;It was like dj vu when I look at the film,&uot; Reed said. &uot;It’s like the teams I played against. They’re another really good South Pike team. They’re strong, tough and play hard. They’re a typical South Pike team.&uot;

The Bulldogs, unlike in last season’s 47-6 loss to the Eagles at home, at least aren’t coming into the game on a down note. Reed and his staff helped engineer a wild 39-38 win over Port Gibson last week in the season opener as the Bulldogs put up in one game half of their total from all of last season.

It was the most points a Natchez High team scored since the 2000 season. Despite giving up enough points to turn the stomach of the head coach who was a standout linebacker for the Bulldogs, starting 1-0 is a good thing.

&uot;We wished we could have finished it off a little better, but we’ll take a W any way we can,&uot; Reed said. &uot;Our kids, they like the offense. It’s a fun offense. Coach (Steve) Davis, Coach (Trey) Woodard and Coach (Jason) Wisner are doing a good job with it. We’re excited about it. It’ll be a good test to see how good we are.&uot;

The offense came off more smooth Friday night than the defense, an area the Bulldogs still need some work. They surrendered over 300 yards offense to the Blue Waves and some crucial big plays that kept the visitors in the ball game.

The Bulldogs did lost starting tackle Tyrone Baldwin during the contest to a broken bone in his leg, an injury that will likely end his season. But outside of that loss, there’s still plenty of room to improve on defense with the system and the basic techniques.

&uot;We’re fixing things,&uot; Reed said. &uot;We’re trying to execute the defense. Just running certain situations the right way and just basic tackling. Those are things we’ve got to work on &045; fundamental things, getting off the ball, running to the ball and executing.&uot;

The Eagles come into the contest after mauling North Pike last week, 54-0.

Cathedral at Madison St. Joseph

NATCHEZ &045; Things have had a tendency to be changed two or three times over on offense already with the Green Wave, and the season hasn’t even officially begun yet.

But the changes haven’t been of choice.

The list of injuries got one shorter this week, but right now the Green Wave are still without lineman Murphy Hinson, quarterback Preston Hicks, receiver Andrew Ellard, Chris Rasco and Nick Blain.

Justin Dollar, who missed last week’s jamboree, will play Friday. Hicks is likely gone for the year, but Ellard may play sparingly on Friday.

&uot;We want to try and get everybody healthy for our region games,&uot; CHS head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;We still haven’t gotten anything definite. We’re trying to shuffle people around with our offense. Hopefully when we get everybody back, we’ll come up with an offense and won’t be changing much.&uot;

The offense will have Matthew Hall at quarterback almost exclusively after he and Hicks were set to vie for the position. Coaches moved people around at receiver to replace Ellard and along the line for everyone else hobbled right now.

It’s put some young players in key spots early in the season, but that’s the situation at hand. There is no option but to move forward the best they can.

&uot;We need to get a little tougher and more competitive,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We need to see a little fire in their eyes, and I don’t think we’ve got that right now. Just play hard, don’t worry about wins or losses and go out and give us a good effort. We haven’t looked as crisp as we should, but it’s going to take a while.&uot;

The season-opener Friday will be against the same team the Green Wave pulled a 35-7 hammering on last season in its first live test of the wide-open attack. The Bruins lost their opener to Salem last week, 17-14.

The Bruins lost quarterback Reggie Hicks from last season after he transferred to Madison Central.

&uot;Reports we have on them are we may be playing a team just like us,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;Maybe we’ll know what they’re going to run when they line up. They’re throwing the ball a lot.&uot;

Terry at Franklin County

MEADVILLE &045; Another Class 4A team comes to town on Friday, and it’s another test for a Class 3A Franklin County team that has high expectations this fall.

Last week was the first big test against a good Lawrence County team, and the Bulldogs prevailed in commanding fashion, 35-13.

&uot;We played pretty well at times,&uot; Franklin head coach Anthony Hart said. &uot;We found some spots we have to work on, but we feel like we’re headed in the right direction. It’s good to win the first game. You never look as good in the first game as you want to, but it’s better than to win the first game than look really good and lose.&uot;

The Bulldogs played solid defense and moved the ball well at times in that contest. They fared better in the second half after taking a 14-7 halftime lead.

The contest this week may be much of the same, although the Bulldogs hope to be more fine-tuned for the contest. Terry beat Raymond last week, 37-0.

&uot;They’ve got a couple of really good running backs,&uot; Hart said. &uot;It’s going to be a good, stiff test for us. They’re pretty big, but we match up well. We’re pretty big, too. We’ve got to go out there and play like we’re supposed to.&uot;

Pointe Coupee Central at Wilkinson County

WOODVILLE &045; It’s the second appearance for the Wildcats to see just how good they are, and Pointe Coupee (La.) Central may be a good measuring stick for that.

The Wildcats pounded South Delta last week 38-0, but that score was similar to last year’s 26-0 decision. The Wildcats pounded PCC last year at home, 46-0, before falling to Jackson, La., in Week 3.

The much-improved Wildcats can take a big step forward this week and next week before opening region play Sept. 17.

Jefferson County at Yazoo City

FAYETTE &045; The Tigers will take their show on the road Friday after hammering hapless Crystal Springs last week, 45-14.

The Tigers will face Class 4A Yazoo City a year removed from blanking that same team 22-0 in Fayette. The Tigers will rely on running back Ernest Havard, who piled up 110 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries last week.