NATCHEZ — All Natchez High needed was a big play to give itself a shot in the arm.

And after the ball was stripped from Wilkinson County fullback Stevenson Veals’ hands, Brian Isaac provided the Bulldogs with that play.

On fourth and two late in the third quarter, Wilkinson County trailed 14-7 but seemed to be on the verge of scoring. After the ball was stripped, though, Isaac caught it in the air and ran it back 78 yards for a touchdown. Natchez would go on to win 34-7.

“I tell you, creating turnovers is something we discuss and make aware to our defense. Someone forced a fumble, and Brian was able to pick it up and score a touchdown,” Natchez head coach Lance Reed said.

“That’s something our defense will have to keep working on in order to help our team.”

Quarterback Javon Washington was 17 of 26 in passing with 148 yards and three touchdowns, something of which his coach took note.

“I was impressed with Javon’s play. He was pretty effective in passing and decision-making. His numbers would have been even better, but the receivers had a lot of drops, and that’s something we have to focus on improving,” Reed said.

Natchez wasn’t the only local team to come away with a victory Friday night. For the second week in a row, all four Adams County teams won, improving their records to 2-0 on the young season.

Trinity Episcopal defeated a tough East Rankin team on the road 21-9, and head coach David King said he was glad his team was able to stand up to such a physically imposing opponent.

“The game went just like I figured it would. That was a talented football team we faced, and we’re certainly happy to come out with a win,” King said.

“They did some very good things to stymie us on offense. It was obvious their gameplan was to take Tip (McKenzie) and Kent (King) out, and (Daniel) Dunaway, (Jake) Winston and (Givonni) Dent all stepped up.

“That’s the good thing about having depth at skill positions. Our guys stepped up when they took our two main threats away.”

Still, King said his team couldn’t get too comfortable just yet.

“Anytime you get a win against a Triple-A team on the road, it’s good, but we have to watch game film and get ready for Centreville Academy,” King said.

“They have one of the best football programs in the state, and they’ll be hungry when they see us.”

Adams County Christian defeated Hillcrest Christian 28-14 Friday, giving head coach Paul Hayles a win the week his mother died.

Hayles said there was a noticeable difference in his team when it played Hillcrest this year versus last season.

“Last year, we went up there and gave the game away with so many mental mistakes. This time, (new quarterback) Johnnie Smith stepped up for his first start as a high school quarterback and did a good job.” Hayles said.

“Early on, we had some problems on the exchange, like fumbled pitches, and those things you can’t do. Johnnie overcame that, though, and our running game opened up thanks to our offensive line, and our defense put us in position to win.”

Hayles said his team expects to win every time it takes the field, and that goes back to the conditioning work his players did in the offseason, he added.

“They’re going to be well-prepared with the scouting reports. We work as hard as anyone around here — no one’s in better shape than us. We just have to perform up to our capabilities,” Hayles said.

Cathedral is another team that had an intense summer workout program that’s paying dividends. After the Green Wave’s 48-34 win over Loyd Star Friday, head coach Ron Rushing complimented his offensive line for standing up to a bigger Loyd Star defensive line.

“They did a great job giving (Caleb Upton) time to throw. Form and technique is half of it, and the other half is determination,” Rushing said.

“Coaches Kurt Russ and Mark McCann are doing a great job teaching them, and all the stuff we did in the summer is paying off.”

Upton continued to impress Friday, going 23 of 37 in passing for a whopping 471 yards.

“The weight room has been a big key for him. He worked hard and got stronger, and he’s one of those guys who stays after practice,” Rushing said.

“Him and Daniel (Huffines) will throw for an hour, and he watches film and studies the game. He’s very knowledgeable of what’s going on around him in the game of football.”