NATCHEZ — The loss to Cathedral High School might still sting a little, but Adams County Christian School will have to quickly put that loss behind itself.

The Rebels hit the road Friday night as they travel to Hillcrest Christian for a 7 p.m. matchup.

“We’ve been able to watch some film on them, and they’re very good,” ACCS head coach Hunter McKeivier said.

“They have a good running back and a good quarterback, and they ran a unique defense last week that you don’t really see. Our offense has the challenge to try and prepare for it and learn to block it properly.”

McKeivier said Hillcrest ran a 7-2-2 defense last Friday in its opening-game 33-0 loss against Manchester Academy, and it’s the defense he’s having his team prepare for.

“They’re trying to allow their linebackers to flow over the top without any offensive linemen touching them,” McKeivier said. “They’re linebackers are their best athletes.”

On offense, McKeivier said the Cougars look to run a spread attack with an emphasis on the ground game.

“They look to run more than pass, which is different than what we saw last week,” McKeivier said. “Of course, Cathedral ran it on us pretty well.”

And McKeivier said he’s unsure of whether his team is better equipped to stop the run or the pass.

“At this point, I couldn’t tell you,” he said. “Fundamentally, last Friday… I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but we weren’t able to (stop) either one.

“This week during practice, we’ve been really into form tackling and coming downhill on the football, and having the defensive backs key in on their responsibilities.”

And McKeivier also said he’s trying to get his team to buy into the concept of togetherness.

“You have to have that for anything to happen that’s positive,” McKeivier said. “It’s a team game; you do everything together. We expect them to do everything together in every facet and try to get the best out of each other.”

When looking at the loss to Cathedral, McKeivier said the 45-6 loss to the Green Wave is a game his players could learn from.

“Ultimately, we want to win every single game, but sometimes the teams you play are better than you,” McKeivier said. “That tells us that we have to get better. If you don’t get better, you’re falling behind.”