NATCHEZ &045; Contrary to popular belief, confidence may not be a fickle thing.

When you talk Cathedral football, it may be simple &045; when the Green Wave scores first in a ball game, the confidence level shoots up faster than a thermometer on a summer day. Throw in the fact that they played the two top teams in the division in consecutive weeks, and what you may have is a team that is beginning to find its identity.

The Green Wave (2-3, 2-4) hopes to keep it going this week after pounding Enterprise on Friday with a playoff spot on the line. The Wave hosts Stringer at 7 p.m. Friday as MHSAA schools in the Miss-Lou enter Week 8.

&uot;We couldn’t have played a better game,&uot; Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;Our offense blocked well, and our defense had an excellent game. We were able to take advantage of their mistakes. That was probably the best game we’ve played all year. Our defense finally stepped up and did a good job of tackling.&uot;

The outcome was a big-time welcome for Beesley and his staff after the Green Wave’s results so far &045; 1-4 overall record, nearly enough injuries to fill a starting lineup and a change away from an offensive attack that worked so well last season.

The win was the Wave’s second in Region 4-1A, and the last two spots are really up for grabs behind Mize and Bogue Chitto. Salem is in the driver’s seat for that No. 3 spot, but the Wave can make things interesting next week when it meets the Salem.

But now a loss to Stringer (3-2, 3-3) on Friday would put a damper on all of that.

&uot;I had a good feeling going into that game we would play well,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;I didn’t think we would dominate them the way we did. We had two rough games back to back, and our kids were fired up for it. The next three or four weeks are probably going to determine whether or not we can get into the playoffs. We’re in pretty good shape right now.&uot;

Now it may be just a matter of maintaining that level of play for the final four weeks. The Wave finishes with Bogue Chitto (3-2, 3-4) and St. Aloysius (1-5, 1-6) following Stringer and Salem, each of which are about equally matched in search of that final playoff spot.

But the Wave is getting players back healthy, getting more repetitions in the wishbone offense behind quarterback Patrick McDonough and executing better. McDonough, the team’s third quarterback this season, had his best game against Enterprise by completing 10 of 13 passes for 122 yards.

&uot;We do a lot out of (the wishbone),&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We’re trying to run the spread a little more each game. Basically, to run that offense there’s a lot of repetition. You’ve got to work at it day-in and day-out. We’re just now getting to understand what we’re wanting to do. We’re just executing better now.&uot;

Natchez at Hancock

NATCHEZ &045; This is the week some folks may have had circled for quite some time. The Bulldogs have not won a division game since 2001, and winless Hancock may present an opportunity to end the drought.

Not so fast. The Bulldogs (0-3, 1-6) are struggling, too. So you can bet the winner will release a huge sigh of relief Friday.

&uot;We have no room to think any win is an easy win,&uot; Natchez High head coach Lance Reed said. &uot;It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. Our focus about our team and getting the things we’re not doing right corrected. We have no room to be relaxed.&uot;

The Bulldogs on paper have done better this season than Hancock, posting that win over Port Gibson to open the season and scoring 118 points this season to Hancock’s 36. But the Bulldogs still have a sour taste in their mouths from Friday’s 38-8 loss on the road to Hattiesburg in a driving rain and remain in search of consistent execution.

The rain slowed down the passing attack, but turnovers again put the Bulldogs in a hole early.

&uot;The ball was a little slippery, but we still didn’t execute in certain areas,&uot; Reed said. &uot;Our goal is still to come out and execute in every phase of the game for four quarters, and we still haven’t gotten that done. We came out Monday and tried to do some things a little differently. We tried to pick up a little intensity in practice to try to get things going.&uot;

The Bulldogs could use a dry field to execute better in their passing game, and it’ll be necessary against a Hancock team that has been troubled on offense this season. The Hawks (0-3, 0-7) have yet to score more than one touchdown in a game but have given up significantly less points than Natchez.

Franklin at Port Gibson

MEADVILLE &045; Franklin County faced the first bit of adversity last week, but the Bulldogs still have plenty of life.

While the remainder of the schedule is not as tough as Hazlehurst, it isn’t anything easy. The Bulldogs (2-1, 6-1) suffered that first loss last week against the Indians (4-0, 5-1) and slowed what was a season full of promise in Meadville.

&uot;We’re just working like normal,&uot; FC head coach Anthony Hart said. &uot;No changes. Not doing any more and not doing any less. We played a good football team was most of the problem. I can’t sit here and say we played real, real bad because we didn’t. They’ll beat a lot of people. &uot;

Jefferson at Tylertown

FAYETTE &045; It’s the Tigers’ turn out of region this week, and it may be against the least favorite opponent in the South half of 3A.

Tylertown is one of the top teams in 3A, a team that pounded the Tigers last year in Fayette 47-14.

Amite at Wilkinson

WOODVILLE &045; The Wildcats (1-3, 4-3) need a win to stay in the race for the playoffs out of Region 7-3A,

if they have a chance at all.