NATCHEZ — Pierson Waring now has two walkoffs against Cathedral.

The first came on the baseball diamond to cap a sweep in the Class 1A baseball playoffs, but the latest came on an 18-yard field goal to give St. Aloysius a 10-7 win in overtime over archrival Cathedral on Thursday.

“I really wasn’t that nervous,” Waring said of his game-winner on third down. “I knew it was tied and I knew we had another chance if I did miss it. I wouldn’t trade it for any other win. I’m just glad it was Cathedral.”

Waring got a chance to drill his first field goal of the season thanks to a clutch play by Luke Burnett. The Green Wave won the toss in overtime and on third down, Burnett dove and intercepted Daniel Huffines’ jump pass in the end zone to give St. Al (5-3, 2-2 Region 4-1A) a chance to win it.

“The tight end got a little past me and I do admit I got him by the jersey a bit, but I managed to come down with it,” Burnett said. “It’s just a great feeling to get this win.”

It was the second time the St. Al defense stood tall in the red zone. The Flashes turned away the Green Wave on fourth-and-goal early in the fourth quarter.

It was an especially sweet victory for St. Al’s seniors, as they remained undefeated in their careers against Cathedral. And for the second straight year, they broke the Green Waves’ hearts at the end. Last season, the Flashes won 31-28 on a touchdown pass in the final minute.

This time, the overtime loss eliminated Cathedral (1-6, 1-3) from the playoff picture.

St. Al won its second consecutive game after taking a pair of losses to open the Region 4-1A schedule. With the brief winning streak, St. Al has clawed its way back into playoff contention and will host a huge game next Friday against Mount Olive.

“When you beat them (Cathedral), it’s something special every time,” St. Al coach B.J. Smithhart said. “That was Pierson’s first field goal of the year, but he’s probably the best kicker in 1A. We had faith in him.”

In Smithhart’s two seasons at St. Al, five of his 12 wins have come in the final minute of regulation or overtime.

St. Al held a 7-0 lead for most of the contest after Carlton Campbell intercepted a Dylan White pass midway through the first to set up the Flashes at the Cathedral 11. Three plays later, Conner Brown scored on a 5-yard run to stake the Flashes to an early lead.

With the field at Devereaux Stadium deluged by heavy rain before and during the contest, neither offense could do much of anything. The teams combined for 114 total yards of offense in the first half.

In the third quarter, the struggling Green Wave got their Notre Dame box offense working. Huffines reeled off a 35-yard run on a spinner misdirection play to get Cathedral into the red zone. The Green Wave got a first down, but then lightning forced a 45-minute delay on third-and-goal. Hunter Foster was stuffed when play resumed with just seconds remaining in the third, setting up the Flashes’ first defensive stand in the red zone.

The Flashes got the ball on downs at their own 7 and were forced to play it conservative with three straight running plays and a punt.

Waring’s low line-drive punt was fielded by Huffines at midfield and he found some footing on the sideline as he raced 45 yards to knot the game at 7-all after Cole Mann’s PAT.

The Flashes had one more shot at a winning score in regulation, as they ground the clock down behind the hard running of fullback Brendan Beesley. But Brown mishandled the pitch from Nosser and the Green Wave recovered to end the threat.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com