NATCHEZ — With games against No. 1 Oak Grove and No. 2 Meridian out of the way and an 18-14 win over Jim Hill behind them, it would appear that the Natchez High Bulldogs can coast through the rest of the season.

They play 1-7 Terry on Friday before taking on winless Wingfield next week.

But it won’t be so easy, according to Natchez coach Lance Reed.

“On paper you would think so, but we beg to differ based on the film we’ve seen,” he said.

Terry’s only win came in a 47-0 rout of Wingfield, but they lost by a touchdown to both Hill and Northwest Rankin earlier this season. They also have a 13-point loss to Brandon under their belts.

So Reed insists Terry is better than its record suggests and that the Region 3-5A road to playoffs is still no picnic.

“When you watch them on film, they tend to turn the ball over in key spots, and that has resulted in them not being able to pull out certain ball games,” Reed said. “When they figure out how to pull it all together, they’re a pretty good team.”

The Bulldogs know they have to stop quarterback Jarrett Johnson and running back Deshun Dixon, two of the team’s strongest players.

Reed said the Terry offense’s main strength is running the ball.

But mostly, Natchez will continue to work more on improving itself than guarding against the other team.

“That was kind of our frame of mind from last week, to get a little more into ourselves, to improve things that we’re not doing well,” Reed said.

The Bulldogs have had a hard time playing from behind this season but saw much improvement in that area against Jim Hill on Friday.

They were down 14-6 and 14-12 before taking the lead at the end of the third quarter.

“I think it’s more of a psyche than anything — our frame of mind and how we approach the games and how we prepare ourselves mentally to finish games,” Reed said.