If there’s anyone among the prep ranks who knows what the New Orleans Saints are going through, it’s the Dexter Bulldogs.

With all the damage Hurricane Katrina caused the tiny Walthall County school, Bulldogs head coach Randy Sumrall wonders if his team will be able to play another home game this season.

The storm blew off the roof off the gym, which housed the locker room, weight room and coaches’ office. Students are expected to return to class today.

And they had to line up for their first game since the storm Friday night without their top playmaker, quarterback Rico Haynes, who evacuated with his family to Atlanta, Ga.

Yet the Bulldogs played inspired ball Friday night and got the job done in a 21-6 win over Cathedral.

&uot;Our gym is destroyed,&uot; Sumrall said. &uot;Our football lights have got problems. Our field house, weight room, coaching office &045; that’s all history. The only thing in the athletic department we’ve got working is the concession stand and the press box on the home side.

&uot;The kids have been scattered from one place to another. They’ve been eating MREs and waiting in lines to get food and water. They haven’t had the diet to keep them in shape. We were unsure of what we were going to do. It looked like we were going to have to cancel.&uot;

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, Mario Miller had taken snaps at quarterback and was able to fill in at quarterback. The team normally suits up 17 players, and Haynes was the only player missing Friday night at D’Evereux Stadium.

The offense came up with some big plays to take the lead on Cathedral, and the team may have just played inspired ball that night &045; just like the Saints did in their opener &045; with no one expecting the team to do much under the circumstances.

&uot;I told the kids when the going gets tough, the tough gets going,&uot; Sumrall said. &uot;They gave me all they had. I’m proud of them. We compliment the Cathedral team. They’ve got a great team, a great coaching staff and great hospitality.&uot;

SLOW OUT THE GATE &045; Cathedral had to stick with its second-string quarterback Friday night with junior starter Patrick McDonough out with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand.

That thrust freshman Preston Edwards into the position against Dexter, and the freshman didn’t do a bad job for his first game out. The offense, however, lost some of its versatility in not being able to throw the ball deep, but fumbles may have hurt the Green Wave more than anything Friday night.

That and Dexter defensive end Tre Fortenberry.

&uot;He did all right,&uot; Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley Sr. said. &uot;He can throw the ball short, but with their speed it was hard to throw the ball deep. That’s what they did a couple of times. They knew we couldn’t throw the ball deep. They were crowding the line of scrimmage, and we could only run to the left. We couldn’t run to the right with (Warner).&uot;

The Green Wave had perhaps their best drive in the second quarter when Edwards’ 10-yard pass to Murphy Hinson along with Dexter’s personal foul for a late hit brought the ball down to the Dexter 16.

On the next play the Bulldogs got into the backfield quick on a handoff, forced the fumble with Edward Dillon recovering it.

The next drive ended with Mario Miller’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Byron Cotton for a 14-0 Dexter lead just before the half.

&uot;We thought they were going to throw all night,&uot; Sumrall said. &uot;Tre really shined for us tonight. He’s only had two practices the last two weeks.&uot;

The Green Wave got into the end zone at the start of the second half when Edwards hit Matthew Hall over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown, but the Wave couldn’t cash in on opportunities in the fourth. The team got to the Dexter 31 before being flagged for holding, and the drive stalled out 12 yards back.

Hall came up with an interception on Dexter’s next drive near midfield, and Zack Calhoun picked up 33 yards on the first play. That drive, too, stalled out at the Dexter 27 when Edwards threw incomplete on fourth down.

Cotton later picked off an Edwards pass on Cathedral’s final drive of the game.

&uot;That holding play &045; that killed that drive,&uot; Beesley said. &uot;We’re not good enough to make mistakes and overcome them. We made three mistakes that hurt us. They had three or four guys who were stronger than what we had &045; especially on the line of scrimmage. They’ve got to get it in their minds they’ve got to hit harder than what they’re hitting.&uot;

IT’S IN THE PLAYBOOK &045; Adams Christian has to be the least-throwingest team in the Miss-Lou, but don’t complain. They’re 4-0 after Friday’s win over Huntington and poised for a solid effort this week when they travel to Copiah Academy.

Quarterback Timmy Foster did throw two passes against the Hounds &045; short passes to Lee Dellinger and Matt Barnes &045; while the power game did its usual thing. The offense was without Cole Bradford, leaving it with only Clay Floyd as a legitimate receiver.

But the passing game won’t leave the playbook.

&uot;We’re working on it,&uot; Adams head coach Bobby Marks said. &uot;I don’t like to mention injuries, but the best receiver we had was Duncan Guedon. Then the second-best receiver we had was Eric Perry, and he’s out until at least the Copiah game. We just don’t have many receivers &045; they all graduated last year. But Timmy is an outstanding football player and an outstanding kid. He’s been our leader.&uot;

The game this week has been a big one for quite some time, especially in recent weeks. Like two steaming locomotives, the Rebels and Colonels may clash Friday night in Gallman in a game that should go a long ways in determining who’s going to claim the 3-AA title.

This is a different Copiah team. It won’t resemble the team that came to Natchez last year and got drubbed 24-0.

&uot;(This) is the game that will make us or break us,&uot; Marks said. &uot;Copiah has what I think is the best team in both districts &045; the one we’re and the one Trinity is in. We went and watched them play Brookhaven, and they beat the fool out of Brookhaven.

&uot;All four backs missed that ball game (against AC) last year. You take all four backs from somebody, and I can see why they got beat. I’d stay on Lake St. John and probably not come over here.&uot;

FIRST TIMER &045; Natchez’s Broderick Jackson had never intercepted a pass during a game until Friday night against Jefferson County. But that night he intercepted two passes &045; and ran them both back for touchdowns.