NATCHEZ &045; Friday night was a wet and wild one for the Trinity Episcopal football team who were trying to get a monkey off their back and put a &uot;W&uot; back in the win column.

Instead, Columbia Academy had other plans and answered with a 12-8 win at

Trinity.

With the rain coming down hard from the opening kickoff it was a game which displayed a battle in the trenches.

Columbia wasted no time scoring after Cougars’ Quarterback Orry Thomas took a 41-yard keeper in for the score on their opening drive putting them up 6-0 after a failed two-point conversion.

Even though Trinity’s star running back Stevan Ridley had 22 rushes for 105 yards in the first half, the Saints couldn’t seem to find the end zone.

&uot;He’s an outstanding back, and he’s only getting better and better,&uot; Columbia Academy head coach Brad Duncan said. &uot;We just couldn’t seem to stop him.&uot;

Both teams were struggling to keep the ball in their hands because of the rain, which helped to factor in on the five fumbles in the first half of the ball game.

While the rain started to come down, more so were the turnovers in the second half. Early into the third quarter a high snap sailed over the head of

Thomas deep in their own territory and was recovered by Trinity on the Cougar 1-yard line.

That led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Trinity quar terback Zach Rogel and a 2-point conversion on a 3 yard run by Ridley putting Trinity up 8-6 in the middle of the third quarter.

Just when Trinity had a chance to score again after Rogal blocked a Thomas punt which was recovered on the Columbia 4, penalties and a Ridley interception in the end zone killed the drive.

&uot;Our defense is what kept us in the game, and we have been studying tape all week long for this game,&uot; Duncan said.

The winning score came on a 22-yard pass to Heath Smith on fourth and goal on the Trinity 22 when Thomas put up a floater that was tipped in the air and taken into the end zone by Smith.

&uot;We just didn’t have the intensity or the focus tonight, and it’s the first time that I have been disappointed in the way that we came out to play,&uot; Trinity coach David King said.

Trinity is 4-4 and host Bowling Green next week while Columbia has the task of playing a 7-1 Oak Forest team.