Natchez &8212; All Saints&8217; Day isn&8217;t until Tuesday, but Trinity celebrated a couple of days early, scoring on the last play of the game to beat Central Hinds 38-35 Friday night.

Stevan Ridley, normally known for his running ability, threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns, the last a 24-yarder to Tripp Bryant in the back of the end zone with three seconds to go in the game.

&8220;I didn&8217;t think I was going to be able to get it, but I did, fortunately,&8221; Bryant said. &8220;I thought I was going to get up and be ruled out of bounds, but I was in bounds. It was a touchdown and pulled the game out.&8221;

Indeed.

In a tortoise-and-hare affair, Trinity jumped out to an 18-6 lead midway through the second quarter, almost entirely through the air, before the running game of Central Hinds brought the Cougars back.

While Ridley completed passes to six different receivers, the Cougars rode tailback Jessie Westbrook and fullback Jason Leist for 330 rushing yards.

Ridley said coach David King told the team at halftime that they were going to have to win the game through the air.

&8220;He said, &8216;Guys, the running game is gone. We&8217;re going to have to step up and make plays.&8221;

His receivers made plays all night long.

Kris Ford took a ball away from a defender for his first touchdown and caught Ridley&8217;s best pass of the night over his shoulder for his second to put the Saints up 18-6.

Ford finished with seven catches for 207 yards.

Bryant, whose first catch of 37 yards set up Trinity&8217;s second score, caught three passes for 73 yards.

Parker Brumfield caught a 14-yard pass for a score.

King said he knew he had good receivers, but &8220;we have such a good running back, we haven&8217;t needed them before tonight.&8221;

The score was 18-14 at the half. Each team punted once in the half and turned the ball over on downs once.

Both teams scored every possession in the second half.

Westbrook led the Cougars with 215 yards on 32 carries and four touchdowns. Leist bulled his way for 83 yards on 18 carries.

Westbrook&8217;s fourth score came from four yards out with 1:10 to go in the game.

&8220;That&8217;s a heartbreaker,&8221; he said. &8220;I thought we had it then, but with two teams playing like that, you never know.&8221;

Trinity took the kickoff on its own 43.

On the first play, Ridley took a reverse-option and found Matthew Freeman for 37 yards. Ridley next ran from the pocket for 11 yards &8212; he finished with 70, including sacks, on the night &8212; to set the Saints up at the Cougar 9 with 35 seconds left.

His touchdown scramble on the next play was nullified by a holding penalty &8212; their 10th penalty of the game &8212; bringing them back to the 25 with time for one play.

Ridley then found Bryant in the back of the end zone for the game winner.

Both teams had qualified for the playoffs before the non-district game.