NATCHEZ — The (4-5) Natchez Bulldogs may not be destined to reach the playoffs with a 1-4 district record, but that isn’t stopping head coach Melvin Pete from laying proverbial bricks.

Hosting a (4-4) Pearl River Central team that defeated a dangerous Laurel squad 28-21 last month, Pete is hoping he can continue to instill confidence in his players, continuing to build on what he’s started in Natchez.

“I was in the same situation in Alabama at (Tuscaloosa) Central,” Pete said. “We won a state championship in three years. We’re pretty pleased with what we have to work with here, and we are not trying to run the seniors away. But I’m trying to build a program.”

Pete has a future to work with in Chris Scott, who is coming off of a 431 passing yards and five touchdowns against Brookhaven High School Friday. While Pete was happy to get confidence back into his freshman quarterback, he wants Scott to understand the task at hand Friday isn’t necessarily to air it out deep.

“It can be difficult with young quarterbacks,” Pete said. “Sometimes he’ll go for the jugular, which I don’t mind sometimes, but we need him to manage down and distance against this team. We see where we can exploit some things with our receiving corps, but we can’t have any drops or fumbles.”

Pete wants to control the clock against a team that runs a Wing-T formation, and tries to play keep away with their opponents. Pete said that’s how Laurel lost. Pearl River Central scored on a 15-play drive, recovered a fumble and then scored on another long drive to go up 14-0 in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs will likely look for their star wideout Sidney Davis often, who is coming off of 13 receptions and 175 receiving yards against Brookhaven. Davis and Anthony Robinson could see some time at quarterback, as well.