NATCHEZ — It hasn’t been the ideal season for the Cathedral Green Wave.

What was a promising 3-0 start quickly turned dismal, with five-straight losses to district teams.

And it all started with a heartbreaking last-minute loss to rival St. Aloysius, 28-31, at home.

“We had a chance to win that fourth game, we had that letdown there at the end,” said coach Craig Beesley. “Then we hit that tough stretch in the middle. And we got off to such a good start.”

The Green Wave won two weeks ago against Pisgah and — now at 4-5 for the season — have a chance to jump back up to .500 with a win at West Lincoln Friday.

The Bears, at 0-10, could be just what the doctor ordered.

“We just need to make sure we come out mentally prepared to play and that we take care of the football,” Beesley said. “We can’t have any mistakes or turnovers. We want to score points in the first quarter and get an early lead.”

Cathedral had a much-needed bye week this past weekend that allowed several key players to nurse nagging injuries.

Kole Junkin, JEB White and Hunter Foster were all playing at less than full strength for the past few games.

“They’re anxious to get out and play again,” Beesley said. “I think they’ll be ready come Friday. Hunter Foster is finally getting back to 100 percent (from a broken leg suffered last spring.) He really played good against Pisgah.”

Despite losing by 30 points to Bogue Chitto, by 12 and 15 to Mount Olive and Stringer, respectively, and suffering a 43-point loss to Stringer, Beesley said his team really never lost heart.

Although they did lag a bit following that first loss.

“The only game I’ve been disappointed in, mentally with the kids not being focuses, was the Bogue Chitto game,” he said. “We had a letdown that week. That’s the only game we really have not shown up mentally prepared to play.

“We faced some good teams in a tough stretch there back-to-back-to-back. It really just took its toll on us.”

And while the Green Wave’s playoff hopes were crushed a long time ago, Beesley knows this game still means something to the team.

“We’ve got a good group,” he said, “and for a lot of them, they know it’s their last time to play.”