CLINTON — The biggest week in the long history of the St. Aloysius-Cathedral rivalry kicked off not on the football field, but in a conference room at the Mississippi High School Activities Association offices in Clinton.

St. Al coach BJ Smithhart and Cathedral’s Ron Rushing joined their counterparts from the 10 other teams playing in this weekend’s state football championship games for a press conference and informational meeting Monday morning.

Although their schools are archrivals, Smithhart, Rushing and a small delegation of administrators from both schools hardly looked the part. They sat at the same table for the meeting and talked glowingly of each other’s programs before returning to campus for the first practice of the week.

Cathy Cook, the superintendent for the Diocese of Jackson, was even called to the podium when both coaches made their opening remarks. Cook oversees both Catholic schools.

“We’re pulling for each other,” said Smithhart, who is good friends with Rushing. “We can’t do that this week. I’m happy for him, and obviously ecstatic for us.”

The challenge for both coaches this week is shutting out distractions and preparing their teams for the biggest game of their lives — Cathedral hasn’t been to a state championship game since 1993, and St. Al since 1981 — while still encouraging their players to enjoy the week and everything that goes with it.

That isn’t just a challenge for the players, either. Rushing said he spent Sunday watching film with his team and preparing lesson plans for the substitute teachers who will fill in for him later in the week.

“I teach five high school math classes also, so I was up there at the high school (Sunday) trying to get all my stuff prepared for subs this week for when we’re gone,” Rushing said. “It’s a lot of distractions, a lot of parents and community doing different things at the school. But it’s like I told them yesterday, I want them to enjoy it. It needs to be a memorable experience. But at the same time, we’ve got a game to play.”

That game will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium. By then, both teams might be worn out by the hoopla leading up to it.

Following a pep rally at 5 p.m. Thursday, St. Al will hit the road and spend the night in West Point. Wake-up call is around 5 a.m. Friday, and the team is scheduled to arrive at Davis Wade Stadium at 9 for pregame activities that include a high school version of Mississippi State’s “Dog Walk” for both teams. An hour later they’ll hit the field for warmups.

St. Al principal Jules Michel said high school classes have been canceled for Friday, and students at St. Francis Elementary School who are going to the game will have excused absences with a parent’s note.

Between now and then, Smithhart said, he’ll do his best to instill a sense of normalcy in a week that’s far from it.

“You just want the kids to stay focused. Enjoy it, but stay focused. Hopefully they can do all of it,” Smithhart said. “It’s a great experience, and just getting better every day.”

Class 1A championship

St. Aloysius vs. Cathedral

When: 11 a.m. Friday

Where: Davis Wade Stadium, Mississippi State University

Tickets: $13, includes admission to Friday’s Class 2A and 6A championship games

Radio: 101.3 FM

TV: WLOO-TV (Vicksburg Video Channel 11)

Online: For live scoring updates, follow the Vicksburg Post on Twitter twitter.com/vixpostsports