NATCHEZ &045; No one expected an offensive showcase this early in the season.

Good thing they didn’t.

Neither Trinity Episcopal nor Huntington could find a rhythm on the offensive end Friday night, but that’s understandable considering the fact that it was a jamboree and the 2004 season has yet to kick off the regular season.

The Saints won both 12-minute jamboree sessions Friday night at the Trinity jamboree but, more important, came away with a good idea of what’s got to happen before the regular season begins next week.

Ditto for the Hounds.

&uot;We had our moments on both sides of the ball, but we weren’t consistent,&uot; Huntington head coach Bo Swilley said. &uot;That’s my fault. When we got tired, we made mistakes. We’ve just got to get better as a team. No individual lost &045; we lost as coaches and players.&uot;

The Hounds struggled moving the football, particularly in the second session when they got just one first down on their own power (two others came on Trinity penalties). They had two turnovers in the second session, as did the Saints.

The Saints had the only big offensive play in both sessions when Stevan Ridley broke a 53-yard run for a touchdown in the first session. The only score of the second session came on the final play when Alex Allain picked up a Huston Eliser fumble and ran it in for a score from 3 yards out.

You can give credit to both teams’ defenses, but it was the lack of offense that gave both coaches splitting headaches.

&uot;We’re just not ready to play high school football right now, honestly,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;We knew that coming into this thing. I don’t know how much we’re capable of getting better. I just don’t really know. There’s not a lot of talent there, but they played hard.

&uot;We’re not ready to play single-A football right now, and we’re not in single-A anymore.&uot;

The teams traded possessions throughout the second session and had more trouble moving the ball and hanging on to it than in the first. Eliser hit Jacob Bonnette on a 27-yard pass on the Hounds’ first drive, but it stalled out just shy of midfield.

The Hounds had another drive that started at their own 28, included two Trinity 15-yard penalties for first downs and stalled out at the Trinity 37 when Eliser threw incomplete and third and fourth downs.

&uot;On a positive note, I think we’ve got things to build on if we just come out and work,&uot; Swilley said. &uot;We’re better, but we’re not nearly where we need to be. I’ve got a couple of big, strong tackles not in shape. I’ve got 15 ball players, and we don’t have many linemen. Your linemen don’t get to go out. We were driving the field out there, but we got a little tired and a little sloppy.&uot;

The Saints, with Zack Rogel at quarterback, had two passes picked off in the second session and couldn’t give Ridley much room to run. The sophomore back had that big run in the first session but had just two more runs after that of more than 10 yards.

The Hounds were physical up front, and the Saints with their all-new front line struggled to hold their blocks.

&uot;The line is just so inexperienced,&uot; King said. &uot;We’re just going to have to go back to the basics. We’re trying to figure out if we’re trying to pass or run block. But we’ll work hard. This coaching staff is going to work as hard as we ever have to get this group to be the best it can be.&uot;