NATCHEZ — J.C. Harris and Bryson Moore combined for over 400 rushing yards and six total touchdowns as the sixth-seeded Cathedral High School Green Wave defeated the 11th-seeded Winston Academy Patriots 44-18 Friday night at D’Evereux Stadium in the first round of the MAIS Class 4A State Playoffs.

Led by an offensive line that continued to open big holes for the running game, Harris finished with 263 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries while Moore had 144 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.

“We ran for over 400 yards as a team,” Cathedral head coach Chuck Darbonne said. “Our offensive line did an outstanding job tonight. We didn’t throw the ball much.”

JT Taylor completed three of five passes for 43 yards with all three completions going to Ben White.

Not only were Cathedral’s running game and offensive line keys to the Green Wave’s win, but so was its defense. Bryson Moore had three sacks, Kaden Batieste had an interception return for a touchdown, Landon Lees had a team-leading six tackles, and Jalen Moore had one sack.

“Defensively, we knew they could throw the ball a lot. We made their quarterback hold on to the ball so where he went to his second reach, we could have time to get to him. He had to throw the ball away a lot,” Darbonne said. “We had some self-inflicted wounds that ended some drives, but our defense kept us in it.”

The Green Wave led Winston Academy (3-8) just 13-6 at the end of the first quarter and 19-6 at halftime. Cathedral then put the game away with four touchdowns in the second half to go up 44-12 midway through the fourth quarter. The Patriots scored their final touchdown late in the game.

Cathedral (7-4) will play at No. 3 seed and District 3-4A champion Wayne Academy in the Class 4A quarterfinals Friday at 7 p.m. The Jaguars received a first-round bye.