There has to be a positive way to look at the predicament Cathedral football finds itself in.

Now that the MHSAA has pushed back all games this week until next week, that has the Green Wave facing two straight off weeks after already having this week as a scheduled open date. Action will resume next week when everyone plays their Week 2 opponents, but the Green Wave has its options.

With the layoff, the team will turn back the clock &045; all the way back to the first of training camp.

&uot;We’ll use next week like the first week of practice,&uot; CHS head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;Being off as long as they have, it’ll be like being out of shape. We’ll get back in shape. We weren’t in that good of shape to start with, but we will get in shape. We’re going to get them back ready, and it’s going to be like the first week of pads.&uot;

The MHSAA will resume action a week from today, but the Mississippi Private School Association ruled that games that won’t be played today will be pushed back to the end of the season. Games for Class A schools will be played Oct. 28, and Class AA schools will play their games Nov. 4.

Trinity Episcopal’s game with Oak Forest will not be played tonight, head coach David King said. The District 3-AA contest will be played Nov. 4. The Centreville Academy-Silliman contest is reportedly still on, but efforts to reach Centreville or head coach Bill Hurst were unsuccessful Thursday.

The Adams Christian-Parklane contest will not be made up, assistant Rusty McPhate said.

Vidalia and Ferriday are still on to play tonight. Huntington will play at River Oaks in a District 7-A opener.

The Green Wave, meanwhile, had all but 10 players show up for a practice Thursday and will go again at 9 a.m. today before breaking for the Labor Day holiday. Students at Cathedral won’t return until Tuesday, but teachers are to report today.

Today’s workout, Beesley said, may just consist of players in shorts before coming back Tuesday to work out. The Green Wave will play again Sept. 16 at home against Dexter in a Region 4-1A contest.

&uot;It’s like we played St. Al today,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We’re going to have a little practice in the morning for about an hour and a half. Next week is going to be a pretty good week of practice. I’m kind of glad we had that open week now. It’ll give us a chance to get back in shape and get ready.&uot;

The time off will give the team a chance to heal some injuries. An MRI on Daniel Hollowell’s ankle revealed only a severe sprain and no major damage, Taylor Radzewicz is recovering after taking a finger into the eye against St. Al and Braxton Fondren is getting over a pulled hamstring.

There are still, however, players who are unaccounted for since spotty phone systems have prevented coaches from contacting them. Sophomore Daniel Culbert is staying with family in Vicksburg.

And Cathedral officials have been unable to contact anyone at Dexter about the game.

&uot;We haven’t heard anything from Dexter,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;I don’t know if they’ll be able to play two weeks from tomorrow. Dexter is not that far from the coast, and I don’t really know how much damage they had. Right now nobody really knows what to do. We’re playing it by ear. I just don’t believe some of those schools will be able to play a week from Friday.&uot;

In Louisiana, Vidalia will host Block in the regular-season opener for both teams. Schools in Catahoula Parish have remained open all this week, while Concordia Parish schools closed Monday but were back open Tuesday.

Ferriday goes to Mangham tonight, and the day off Monday didn’t put a damper on the Trojans’ spirit after their wild win over Vidalia Saturday in the jamboree. For a program that’s struggled the last two seasons, everything had a different feel Monday.

&uot;We didn’t practice (Monday),&uot; Ferriday head coach James McFarland said. &uot;We got some high winds, and it knocked down a lot of trees. But I tell you &045; winning kind of helps everything. We see that we’re not where we need to be, but I had some kids come up to me Monday and say, ‘Come on, coach, let’s go.’&uot;

The Trojans’ season-opener against Mangham is the first of a downsized schedule in 2005 as opposed to seasons past when the Trojans faced Class 4A Peabody, 1A power Oak Grove, Franklin Parish and Northeast.

It’s also perhaps the first meeting in the regular season for the Trojans with the 1A Dragons in quite some time.

&uot;We’ve scrimmaged against Mangham and were in a jamboree with Mangham one or two years ago,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;But they’ve got a different staff. We’ve been looking at them on film, and their quarterback is pretty nifty. They don’t seem to be big on the offensive line, but their defensive line seems bigger.&uot;

At Vidalia, the Vikings will go after a heart-wrenching loss to Ferriday in the jamboree and will face a Block team that will be without Johnny Lee. Head coach Scott Green suspended the speedy wingback for the jamboree and the season opener.