NATCHEZ — At 4-0, Ron Rushing and the Cathedral Green Wave are trying to avoid the elements of surprise.

Going on the road to take on an 0-4 Stringer football team might seem like an easy win on the surface, but Rushing has taken a closer look at the details.

“It’s definitely a trap game,” Rushing said. “They played the No. 1 team in 3A last week and only lost by a touchdown. Every game they’ve been in has been a battle to the end. They have a lot of older kids, so I’m trying to tell players not to take them lightly.”

Cathedral is coming off of a 27-26 victory against Resurrection Catholic, and though Rushing said he was proud of his team’s overall effort, he would like to see a faster start from his offense.

“The first six plays of the game we had somebody in the wrong place,” Rushing said. “We can’t have those type of mistakes. I think the bye week had a lot to do it with it, but we need to concentrate and pay better attention to our assignments.”

Rushing said he expects Stringer to come out in a 4-3 base defense and dare them to pass the ball, but he’s preparing for all looks Stringer might give him.

“We want to be balanced this week,” Rushing said. “They normally come out in a 4-3, but they’ve given us an odd front when we spread it out in the past.”

Defensively, the Green Wave will have to stop a double-wing attack that Rushing said Stringer runs well.

“If you watch the film, you see some athletic kids and an offensive line that creates holes for them to move the ball well,” Rushing said.

The Green Wave will look to avoid the trap game and go 5-0 Friday.