Sports
Vicksburg falls short against Natchez in season opener
Vicksburg High School lost to Natchez 20-14 in their season opener, with costly turnovers impacting the game. Despite strong defensive plays and a late-game touchdown, Vicksburg could not secure a victory.
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VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) —
Vicksburg High School fell short in a 20-14 loss to Natchez in its season opener Friday night.
The Gators’ defense held strong throughout much of the night, but turnovers proved costly and ultimately hurt Vicksburg’s chances of pulling out the victory.
The first quarter went scoreless as Devyon Beard made several big plays in the backfield for VHS. Natchez eventually struck first in the second quarter when the Bulldogs returned a fumble for a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead.
Vicksburg quickly responded.
Quarterback Jordan Clay broke free for a 30-yard run to put the Gators in scoring position. Jaquez Jones followed with a 10-yard touchdown run, and Nick Carson ran in the 2-point conversion to give VHS an 8-6 lead.
Jamari Johnson later came through with a key tackle for the Gators, but Natchez regained the lead after scoring on a short pass. The Bulldogs took a 14-8 advantage into halftime.
Vicksburg came out of halftime with a spark as Rico Thomas picked up big yardage on the kickoff return to give the Gators good field position. Jones then broke free for a 25-yard run, but VHS was eventually stopped on fourth down.
Wallyss Curry and Jaylen Smith continued to make their presence felt defensively, delivering big hits on Natchez ball carriers.
When the Gators returned to offense, Clay connected with Carson for a 20-yard pass, but VHS was stopped before getting an opportunity to reach the end zone.
Clay changed that early in the fourth quarter. The quarterback scrambled for a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.
Smith came up with a sack late in the game for VHS, but Natchez eventually broke through with a 30-yard touchdown run to regain the lead at 20-14.
The Gators still had an opportunity to respond.
Clay connected with Jones for a 35-yard pass to move VHS down the field, but a bad lateral resulted in a turnover and gave Natchez possession. The mistake ended Vicksburg’s final opportunity to score as time expired.
Vicksburg will travel to Leake Central next Friday.
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