NATCHEZ &045; Hot and cold may feel just fine right now.

With the way the offense clicked last week, Cathedral can simply make the adjustments. The passing game got hot in the fourth quarter last week in the win over Bogue Chitto, maybe the hottest it’s been all season with sophomore Patrick McDonough at quarterback.

Yet the offense was still able to balance things out at times, and that’s something the Green Wave hopes to do Friday against St. Aloysius.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Vicksburg in a game the Wave needs to win in order to qualify for the playoffs.

&uot;I’m feeling more comfortable,&uot; McDonough said. &uot;It’s a lot better. I’m just trying to keep up with everybody else. I’m young, and everybody else is experienced. I’m trying to keep up and do everything else.&uot;

McDonough threw for a season-high 213 yards in the team’s comeback win, the first on the season.

The sophomore finally found a rhythm after going hot and cold at times through the first seven games he played.

McDonough came in during the Madison St. Joseph games for Matthew Hall, who got the start in that game following the season-ending injury to Preston Hicks in the jamboree.

&uot;I don’t know if its so much confidence or what, but the first half he struggled a little bit,&uot; Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;The main thing is him getting his reads off and throwing to the open receiver. He tries to force things in with the receivers covered. That’s when he has most of his interceptions.

&uot;He’s getting better at that. It’s just experience. He’s almost got a year of experience. We haven’t had any injuries lately, and everybody knows where they’re going to play. That’s been a big help.&uot;

The offense can click when everyone is hitting on all cylinders as it did Friday. Between the passing game, the draw play to running back Daniel Hollowell or the wishbone backfield, the offensive line blocked well in each situation.

&uot;I think everybody is working hard, and the line and the receivers are doing well,&uot; McDonough said. &uot;Coach (Bert) Smith works with me a lot trying to help me read the defense and that kind of stuff. We’re trying to keep it balanced. We try to be a throwing team, but when that doesn’t work out we’ll got to the run. I think it’ll work out well.&uot;

The thing that may worry Beesley the most going into Friday’s game is the turnover battle. The Green Wave came out on the positive end against Bogue Chitto after the Bobcats lost three fumbles and had two passes picked off.

The Flashes can score points with running back Rob Jones, who has been the team’s main source of yardage and points this season.

&uot;We’ve got to continue to play good football and not have so many turnovers,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;I think that’s the key to the game. They’re capable of scoring some points. I don’t think their defense is as strong as it has been in the past. They have some big guys, but they don’t have the overall team speed they’ve had. If we can keep their running back under wraps and not turn the ball over, I like our chances.&uot;

Then the emphasis switches to the defense, where Jones has the potential to cause problems in the Cathedral defense. The Green Wave had problems in the second half last week wrapping up fullback Cory Washington, but Jones may be a little different.

Jones had all three of the Flashes’ touchdowns in a 21-6 win over West Lincoln last week.

&uot;He’s not quite as big as Washington, but he’s a combination of power and speed,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;He likes to use his speed, but they run a lot of traps and runs some traps off tackle and hope they can break through that first line of defense. We’ve got to tackle him at the line of scrimmage. We need to make sure we hit him on every play. He might not like to get hit on every down.&uot;

You can bet, though, that Jones and the Flashes will be fired up for Friday’s contest just as they are every year in this rivalry. There’s also a confidence factor for them after having won the last four meetings, including last season where the Flashes finished their season to topping the playoff-bound Green Wave.

Cathedral needs a win to get into the playoffs. A loss would have the Wave hoping Bogue Chitto loses to Enterprise.

&uot;It’s going to be tough,&uot; McDonough said. &uot;We’ve got to play hard. We can’t just blow it off like we think we’re going to win. We’re going to go out there and play hard.&uot;

Columbia at Franklin County

MEADVILLE &045; Whatever plagued the Bulldogs in that 12-0 loss to eventual Region 7-3A champion Hazlehurst, it’s gone away since.

The Bulldogs have since scored 148 points in the three games since then, which is evidence enough of the problems may have merely been a good Hazlehurst team. They have clicked offensively since with Jasper O’Quinn at quarterback in the option system.

Jefferson County at Greene County

FAYETTE &045; The Tigers are in the playoffs for the second straight year, a noteworthy accomplishment for a team who broke a 20-year absence last season when they got in.

But they could be backing in a bit after last week’s humbling loss to Port Gibson, and the first opponent in the postseason is the defending state champions.

The Tigers dropped that 32-13 decision to Port Gibson last week that gave the Blue Waves their first postseason appearance in 15 years.

Natchez High at Brandon

NATCHEZ &045; The Bulldogs will look for something positive to finish the season when they hit the road for their final game of 2004.

The Bulldogs (0-6, 1-9) struggled on the defensive end again last week in a 53-12 loss to Oak Grove. The Warriors’ 50-plus points was the sixth time an opponent has done that to the Bulldogs this season.