Centreville’s win over Oak Forest wasn’t surprising.

After all, the Tigers were undefeated in district play heading into the game. What was surprising was the manner in which Centreville disposed of the Yellow Jackets, who also entered the game with a 5-0 district record.

Asked how good it felt to beat the Tigers’ district rivals, senior running back Blake Devall said he couldn’t put it into words.

&uot;I can’t even explain it,&uot; Devall said. &uot;It’s been so long since we beat them.&uot;

Oak Forest looked sloppy in its play, particularly on special teams and offense. The Yellow Jackets allowed a 64-yard kickoff return that set the tone for the game.

Centreville had superior field position throughout the game and used it, scoring three touchdowns on drives that started in Oak Forest territory (the Tigers only other touchdown came on an interception return).

&uot;They’re in better shape than we are,&uot; Oak Forest head coach Jason Brabham said. &uot;This late in the year, you wouldn’t think that would matter, but it was hot tonight.&uot;

Centreville’s offense was opportunistic, scoring on short drives, but more importantly, the Tigers simply didn’t make any mistakes. Their two fumbles were both recovered, one on a crazy play in which the ball bounced through several players hands on its way to lineman Dustin Sellars’ possession.

&uot;We just got some big plays and took advantage of them,&uot; Hurst said.

The bottom line? Centreville will be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs two weeks from now, and Oak Forest will be the No. 2 seed. Both teams finish up the regular season this week with non-district opponents.

Hurst said he has a feeling Centreville and Oak Forest’s paths may cross again in the postseason.

NOT SO SPECIAL &045; The absence of Riley Trask on Friday night for Natchez hurt in more ways than one.

Trask was out with receiver Charles Cothern due to disciplinary reasons, leaving the quarterback duties to Jason Bruce in the Bulldogs’ loss to Northwest Rankin.

But Trask is also the team’s punter, and the Bulldogs inserted freshman Travis Isaac in as punter. Isaac punted four times for an average of 20 yards, but the first three punts gave the Cougars a short field to work with.

Isaac’s punts were for 13, 22 and 8 yards.

&uot;We had to make adjustments on special teams today &045; quick adjustments,&uot; Natchez High head coach Lance Reed said. &uot;Our special teams weren’t very good tonight. We have to do a better job of punting the ball, and that’s something we’ve got to work on.&uot;

Thepunts wouldn’t have been so bad had the offense not been pinned so deep in its own territory. The Bulldogs punted from their own 12 on their first drive of the game, and Northwest Rankin started from the 24 and needed three plays to get into the end zone.

Isaac then booted the 22-yarder that was fielded at the Natchez 48, but Josh Brumfield returned it to the house for a touchdown. His try at the start of the second quarter from the NHS 10 got blocked by Rucker Culpepper, and the Cougars recovered and scored three plays later.

Riley was a sure-footed punter heading into the contest, but the two will likely play Friday in the team’s final home game.

&uot;We had some issues that caused those guys not to play,&uot; Reed said. &uot;We have to go on when things like that happen. It was homecoming week. It’s something that’s a learning experience for us all. But we had some young guys who played there at the end, and it was great. We had almost an entire freshman team out there at the end, so that’s positive.&uot;

HE’S THE GLUE &045; You’ve got to hand it to Adams Christian for its ability to run the ball well each week despite losing the players it has so far.

The Rebels have gone on in recent weeks without Dustin Case and Cole Bradford, the combination that was supposed to give defenses fits, after both went out with injuries. Heath Williams put aside a sore shoulder to play on Friday, but the Rebels lost Lee Dellinger in the first half with a knee injury.

The Rebels did what they had been doing Friday night against Riverfield. The offensive line blocked well, and quarterback Timmy Foster &045; about the only skill player not to suffer a serious injury &045; kept everything together.

&uot;Timmy has done a really good job of that,&uot; Adams head coach Keith Walters said. &uot;Timmy is a really smart player. He’s really stepped up and is running the offense. We had a delay of game (against Central Hinds) on our quarterback, but that’s what he was doing &045; getting everybody moved around.

&uot;It’s been pretty difficult on Timmy. He’s had different backs and receivers every week. Don’t ask me what’s going to happen if Timmy gets hurt.&uot;

(

Adam Daigle

contributed to this report.)