UTICA — The Cathedral School football team responded from last week’s loss to Dexter with a win over Hinds Agricultural High School Friday night, but it still took the Green Wave some time to get going against the Bulldogs.

Cathedral fell behind 14-12 after one quarter of play and trailed 21-12 before scoring 37-straight points to put the game away. The Green Wave went on to win 55-34.

“It was a good win,” Cathedral coach Ron Rushing said. “We started off and put ourselves in a hole. But, everybody pulled together, and I’m extremely proud of them. Our guys are seasoned, and they are showing cohesiveness.”

Cathedral quarterback Caleb Upton threw two early interceptions to help Hinds AHS jump out to the early lead, but Rushing said he was proud of the way Upton responded.

“But, Caleb stayed calm and played well,” Rushing said.

Upton finished his night with 332 yards passing and five touchdowns, and Rushing said the two interceptions are all part of playing in Cathedral’s pass-oriented offense.

“Caleb held the ball a little too long early,” he said. “But, as much as we throw, that kind of thing is bound to happen.”

Rushing said the game plan coming into the game was to throw, and the Green Wave stuck with it even after the slow start.

“We felt like we would be able to throw the ball on them from watching film,” he said. “But, Ealey went over the 1,000-yard mark for the year. So, we did a little of both.”

J.D. Ealey was the leading rusher for the Green Wave. He ran for 78 yards and three scores. Ealey also had a receiving touchdown. Matthew Rymer led the Green Wave defensively with 12 tackles and 10 assists. Kyle Bradley filled up the defensive stat sheet with four tackles, two assists, two tackles for loss and an interception.

The win puts the Green Wave one win away from securing its second straight region title.

The Green Wave will host University Christian next Friday.