Ron Rushing is ready to take his team to Natchez. The Brookhaven Academy Cougars and their head coach take on the Cathedral Green Wave at 7 p.m. tonight and Rushing is raring to go.

“We’ve had a great week of practice,” said Rushing. “We’ve made adjustments after the game on Saturday and I can’t wait to see how our kids are going to respond and improve.”

The Cougars suffered a 49-28 loss to Thomas Heyward Academy (Ridgeway, South Carolina) on Saturday at the SECIS Kickoff Classic in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Cougars are coming off of a 2017 season in which they finished 9-3 and made a second-round playoff appearance.

With 37 players on the roster, the program is a long way from the 17-man team that Rushing inherited in 2016. Rushing is assisted by Jaymie Palmer, Jarrod White, and Patrick Nottingham.

Cathedral will be a strong test to gauge the growth of the program and it’s a school that Rushing has history with. Rushing moved to Brookhaven after serving as head coach from 2010-2015 at Cathedral.

The Green Wave won the 2014 MHSAA 1A state championship under Rushing and he was succeeded by current Cathedral leader Chuck Darbonne.

Last season the Cougars jumped up 17-0 on the Wave before seeing Cathedral come roaring back to take a 49-24 win in the season opener.

“Cathedral will run the ball well and they’ve got an athletic quarterback that can make plays,” said Rushing. “Our kids are excited to go over there and see how we stack up.”

Story by Cliff Furr