FAYETTE — Anthony Robinson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Sidney Davis with 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter allowed the Natchez High Bulldogs to escape with a 34-28 win over the Jefferson County Tigers Friday night.
Jefferson County had one final opportunity to pull off the upset, but Rashard Brown’s last pass of the game was intercepted by Shavoke Herrington.
After a scoreless first quarter, Natchez High looked like it was on its way to an easy win after scoring three touchdowns in the second quarter — two-yard touchdown runs by John Ferguson and Davis as well as a 24-yard fumble return by Megill — that gave the Bulldogs a 22-6 lead with time running out in the first half.
But Jefferson County scored on a 40-yard pass from Brown to Rasheem Carter with five seconds left before halftime that made it a 22-12 game.
“They threw a Hail Mary on us and the momentum changed,” Natchez High head coach Melvin Pete said. “We have to learn how to finish a half.”
Arthur Norton scored on a 30-yard run and Brown ran in on a two-point conversion to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 22-20 with 6:08 to go in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs had a response when Terrell scored on a 19-yard run with 4:27 left in that quarter.
Norton finished with 112 yards rushing on 22 carries with two touchdowns for the Tigers, while Terrell led the Bulldogs’ ground game with 104 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries. Ferguson had 17 carries for 96 yards.
“We were successful running the ball. We have three good backs that we use for our two-back system,” Pete said.
Then with 3:22 remaining in regulation, Brown scored on a 6-yard run and added the two-point conversion run to tie the game at 28-28. It appeared the game was headed to overtime.
Brown was 9-for-18 passing for 179 yards and two interceptions.
Natchez High quarterabck Chris Scott was 7-of-14 with one interception for just 30 yards while Robinson was 2-of-4 for 12 yards.
Natchez High won the turnover battle, forcing four of them while giving it away twice itself.
“We still came up with some interceptions. I was pleased with our effort. We’re still learning our personnel,” Pete said. “We still have to do better with our substitutions.”
Natchez High (2-0) hosts Ferriday next Friday at 7 p.m. Jefferson County (0-2) plays at Raymond at 7 p.m. next Friday.