NATCHEZ &8212; Big plays were the story of the night, and thankfully, the Cathedral Green Wave made the big plays when they counted the most in a 44-36 shootout at home over Bogue Chitto.

&8220;We&8217;ve been here before. We seem to have had a lot of these in recent years,&8221; Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley said. &8220;We&8217;ve needed to come up with the clutch play several times this year. Thankfully, we got the plays we needed to night.&8221;

Defensively, the Green Wave played well enough when it counted, often stopping the Bogue Chitto offense when they were in scoring position.

Braxton Fondren provided the biggest of those stops when, on 4th down and long and Cathedral up 44-36, he broke up a pass that would have led to a first down.

&8220;I was fired up. This was a big game,&8221; Fondren said. &8220;I never even thought about going for an interception, I just wanted to break up the pass.&8221;

Fondren had missed most of practice this week with a strained knee, and only played sparingly on defense.

&8220;Braxton played extremely well,&8221; Beesley said. &8220;I&8217;m surprised he ran as well as he did tonight. We had to have him to tonight and he stepped up for us.

Quarterback Patrick McDonough played big as well, throwing for 282 yards, four touchdowns and rushing for a fifth touchdown.

&8220;Patrick (McDonough) has played well when he has had time to throw,&8221; Beesley said. &8220;Our line gave him time tonight and when they do that we have the receivers to make them pay for it.

Wide Receivers Forest White and Braxton Fondren combined for over 200 yards receiving and three Green Wave touchdowns.

&8220;We knew offensively there would be some holes for us,&8221; Fondren said. &8220;We just stuck to the game plan and Patrick did a nice job getting the ball to us in the right spots.&8221;

Bogue Chitto quarterback Seth Avants was unstoppable on the ground, rushing for 209 yards. Thankfully, Avants didn&8217;t enjoy the same success through the air as he threw three interceptions in key situations.

Taylor Radzewicz made huge plays playing out of position, as he picked off two Avants&8217; passes to stop Bogue Chitto drives.

&8220;He did a good job considering where we had him playing tonight,&8221; Beesley said. &8220;He didn&8217;t make some tackles when he should have, but I guess you could say he made up for it.&8221;

Next week Cathedral plays Mercy Cross on the road. If the Green Wave win, they will host a home game for the first time in nearly a decade.

&8220;They&8217;re bigger than the team we played tonight and will likely be one of the most physical teams we&8217;ve played all year,&8221; Beesley said.