Gators handed Callaway their first loss of the season in 30-7 win on Thursday

Vicksburg High School handed Callaway their first loss of the year in the Gators’ 30-7 win on Thursday night.

“I thought my boys played well and aggressive but at first we were hitting the wrong people but tonight we got the right blocks and the scheme down packed and I was just glad to see the guys have fun,” Head Coach Todd McDaniel said.

Both the Gators and Charges struggled on their first two possessions of the game where both teams were forced to punt. Walleke Curry and Kearris Gilliam both got hard hits early in the quarter.

VHS eventually began moving the ball with Malik Montgomery trucking through defenders.

After a overthrown pass, quarterback Ronnie Alexander hit DeCorey Knight for a long pass that went over 40 yards inside the five yard-line. Montgomery finished the drive with a short touchdown that helped VHS go up 6-0 with 1:48 left in the first quarter.

A muffed kick would give VHS the ball on the 26 but the Gators wouldn’t capitalize on the Chargers’ mistake and went into the second quarter with a one touchdown lead.

The Gator defense continued to stand their ground in the second quarter as Curry, Demarcus Johnson, and Caleb Bryant all came with at least one sack in the quarter. Tyler Carter also put some pressure on the quarterback.

While back on offense, Montgomery picked up more yardage with hard running until Johnny Smith caught a pass in the middle of the field for over 60 yards. Smith ran it in for the score two plays later followed by a two-point conversion by Montgomery that put VHS up 14-0.

The Gators forced another punt on the next drive where Nicolas Mickey took it for a 30-yard score but was called back due to penalty.

VHS didn’t get into the end zone on that drive and went into halftime up 14-0.

The Chargers came out of halftime scrambling the football heavily and quickly picked up their first score on a 40-yard touchdown. Bryant managed to get a sack on that drive along with Curry who blasted a ball carrier.

Still up 14-7 going into the fourth quarter, VHS went back to the run game with a combination of DeCorey Knight Jr, Montgomery, Smith, and Alex Jefferson running the ball heavily. On the 93-yard drive, Jefferson ran over a defensive player to score a 15-yard touchdown with 10:10 left to play. A two-point conversation by Jefferson put VHS up 22-7.

VHS would fumble on their next possession but quickly got the ball back when Johnson laid out Calloway’s quarterback while Dennis Battle came up with the interception.

Jefferson would soon score another 15-yard touchdown to put VHS up 30-7 with the successful two-point conversion.

“We made some mental mistakes tonight but overall we came together and finished with the W,” Johnson said.

The Gators maintained their lead for the rest of the night and easily took home the win and will now prepare for Ridgeland.

“When a team comes in here undefeated all that means is it’s time for you to lose because this is not the old Vicksburg,” McDaniel said.