NATCHEZ — Seven local teams saw postseason action this past Friday, and four of them — Trinity, Natchez High, Franklin County High and Ferriday High — ended up advancing to the next round of the playoffs.

Trinity Episcopal School hosted Sylva Bay Academy in the second round of the MAIS Class A South State Playoffs, and rode a strong performance by all-purpose back R.J. Fleming to a 43-38 win.

The victory put Trinity back in the South State championship game for the first time since 2006, and head coach David King said that was an accomplishment of which to be proud.

“I think there was a stat I was looking at the other day, that said six of the last nine years we’ve played in the South State championship, so that’s pretty impressive,” King said after the game.

Fleming tallied 167 yards and three touchdowns rushing. He also had a touchdown catch for 61 yards, and was 5-of-6 in passing with 101 yards.

Perhaps the most thrilling local victory Friday came at Natchez High School, where the Bulldogs came back against Petal for the second year in a row to win in the first round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs.

With less than a minute to go in regulation, and down by four points, Bulldogs quarterback Javon Washington led his team down the field and scored on a 1-yard carry to give Natchez a 19-17 lead with 35 seconds to go. Natchez would hold on to that lead as time expired, giving the Bulldogs a berth in the second round of the postseason against Ocean Springs Friday.

Last season, Washington also led his team on a last-minute scoring drive to beat Petal in the first round of the playoffs at Petal’s home stadium. Bulldogs head coach Lance Reed said the confidence of his players is what led to them being able to come from behind.

“Our kids are confident in what they can do,” Reed said. “They go out there with confidence, which gives them a chance to win the ball game.”

Reed said his team still has areas it can get better at, and will have to if it wants to proceed even deeper into the playoffs.

“Defensively, we want to do a better job at containing the run, making our tackles and taking the right angles of pursuit,” Reed said.

Cathedral School ended its late-season miracle run with a 27-7 loss to Weir High School. Cathedral managed just one fourth-quarter touchdown, but Green Wave head coach Craig Beesley said he was proud of his players no matter what the outcome.

“I thanked our seniors for the way they led the team,” Beesley said. “We were all disappointed in the outcome, but I told them they have nothing to be ashamed of. Weir has been in the playoffs 23 straight seasons, so I think that experience really played a part in the outcome.”

With Cathedral (4-7) having no more games left, Beesley said he’s looking forward to offseason workouts and spring practice.

“We have to continue to work hard and get better. We have to keep these young guys together. We like the group that’s coming back, but we’ll definitely miss the ones that are graduating. We just have to keep improving.”