For Hillcrest, just playing game was big step after Hurricane Katrina

Hillcrest Christian scheduled its first football game ever against a public high school last spring when it decided to make the 385-mile trip north to face Jackson High School.

The Cougars, a small private school out of Jackson, Miss., could not have predicted the horrors which came in the way of Hurricane Katrina less than a week before their scheduled contest with the Indians.

Despite losing electricity and not being able to practice until Wednesday, Hillcrest decided to make the trip. That decision paid off as Hillcrest got what coach Dough Hoehn described as the program's biggest win in a 17-14 victory at Jackson on Saturday.

Hoehn said his main goal was just to come up and play hard, and try to get better.

"I'll be honest with you, I didn't think we'd win this ball game," he said.

Winning was not the most important thing for Hoehn on Saturday, though. Playing was.

Many Hillcrest players were still without electricity and two players on the team did not make the trip because they had to relocate after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes.

Hoehn said he felt the trip would be a good way for the kids to get away from some of the destruction caused by Katrina and get back to doing something they enjoy.

"We thought maybe it's not a good thing for them to be always watching CNN, seeing the bad things in life," he said.

The remainder of Hillcrest's season is in question as Mississippi tries to deal with the aftermath of Katrina, but at least on Saturday the Cougars were able to put on the pads and try to get back to normal.

"This is the best they've ever played," Hoehn said. "I don't know where it came from, maybe it came from the hardship we've been through. We don't know if we can play our next game."