NATCHEZ — Week four of fall practice for Wilkinson County Christian Academy marks the final week of practice before the first game.

WCCA is set to face off against the Christian Home Educators Foundation Patriots out of Baton Rouge on Friday at 8 p.m.

Rams head coach Sam Byrd said he’s been stressing the importance of putting pressure on the opposing quarterback to his players this week.

“They have a guy named Stevie Douglas playing quarterback for them,” Harkins said. “He’s about 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, and really began to turn some heads when he competed in some camps this summer.

“He has a big, strong arm and they do a lot of good things utilizing him at quarterback, so we’ll really have to step up our game and not allow him to sit in the pocket and pick us apart.”

Because the Patriots’ quarterback looks to be formidable, Byrd said he’s working to make sure the defensive players know their assignment.

“We’re working on the small stuff,” Byrd said, “like our linebackers and defensive backs making their reads and staying in their zones.”

On offense, Byrd said his team has spent a lot of time examining film in order to perfect what they’re trying to run.

“Two years ago we went to the playoffs,” Byrd said. “We looked at film from that year, as well as last year, to try and see what worked for us and what went wrong. We’re just trying to correct the mistakes and go from there.”

Bryd said his offensive attack will be based upon the running game, and he’s been working with his offensive linemen to make sure they can block for sophomore tailback Tip McKenzie.

“(McKenzie) did a good job last year,” Byrd said. “He improved as the year went on, learning to run and use his body. I think he had over 1,000 yards rushing, and he looks to do even better this year.”

Byrd said he’s also liked what he’s seen from senior quarterback Todd Gonda.

“He’s doing a good job trying to correct mistakes when he makes them,” Byrd said. “He’s also able to scramble under pressure really well.”

On defense, Byrd singled out linebackers Trey McCants and Hayden Holden as two key players for the Rams. Byrd also said Holden will be important on the offensive side of the ball as well.

“He’s our starting center, too,” Byrd said. “We use a shotgun type of offense, so it really starts with him getting a good snap back to the quarterback.”

In talking about team goals for the upcoming season, Byrd takes more of a process-oriented attitude, rather than setting result-oriented goals.

“We just want to go out and play the best game we can play every game,” Byrd said. “We just want to have that consistency each week. The wins will take care of themselves.”