NATCHEZ — In a battle between two reigning state champions, two teams ranked inside the Associated Press’ Top 5 overall teams in the Mississippi Associated of Independent Schools will test one another tonight.

The No. 5 Cathedral High School, fresh off of a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A State Championship, travels to face No. 1 Jackson Prep, who has won three straight MAIS AAA Division I state championships.

“We’ve put in a lot of time for this Friday,” Cathedral head coach Ron Rushing said. “I’ve had the guys watch 30 minutes of film after practice. We’re looking to be sharp going into this game.”

A key, Rushing said, in pulling off the road victory will be starting fast Friday night. Last season, against Oak Forest Academy, who ended up winning the MAIS AAA Division II state championship, Cathedral went down 14-0 and couldn’t dig itself out.

“We have to be clean right off the bat,” Rushing said. “We can’t make simple mistakes, and we have to keep the chains moving, staying favorable in down and distance.”

Leading the charge offensively will be Connor Mire, who is coming off of a performance against Madison St. Joseph where he completed 85 percent of his passes and totaled 300 yards. Mire’s quick start isn’t a surprise to Rushing, who witnessed Mire putting in the work this summer.

“He’s been to Atlanta, San Francisco, Texas, and he’s spent a lot of time in Jackson working one-on-one with an instructor,” Rushing said. “He’s played very well.”

While Jackson Prep will have more players suited up, the Patriots won’t necessarily have a size advantage. With most of its defensive line hovering around 200 pounds, Cathedral’s offensive line might actually possess the advantage in size.

“They come off the ball, though, and they run extremely well,” Rushing said. “All 11 of those guys on defense run well. They’re extremely well coached.”

Jackson Prep has played numerous quarterbacks in its first two wins this season. Chance Lovertich has played the most time, completing eight of his 14 passes for for 98 yards. The Patriots are led by their rushing game, however, with Jacob Crawley and Jerrior Ealy combining for 347 rushing yards on the season.

Rushing said Cathedral enters the game fully healthy, and he’s expecting a great turnout for one of the biggest games of the season.

“I want to challenge everyone to come to the game,” Rushing said.