NATCHEZ &8212; Shootouts sure don&8217;t need any added pressure.

Yet miss the first kick of the competition and watch the other team make its first shot, then you can talk pressure. When Natchez came up empty on its first try and North Pike found the net, it seemed like an uphill battle from there.

Not quite, but the Jaguars held the momentum. They missed another shot to force it down to the fifth and final kicker, and Brendon Van Norman put one in the right corner past Natchez High keeper Jeremy Buckles to claim the shootout and a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs.

&8220;Those are our five best shooters right now,&8221; North Pike head coach Wes McCullough said. &8220;We&8217;ve been in one other shootout against Franklin County, and they knew what to do. You pretty much know who your top five are, and Brendon wanted to go last. He wanted to be the last one just in case, and he stepped up.&8221;

Credit the Bulldogs for taking the shootout down to the final kicker despite missing another during the competition. Kent Calvit missed the first kick, and John Paul Price put one high over Buckles&8217; head on the Jaguars&8217; first try.

Each of the next two kickers for each team put it in the net with Marcus Johnson and Brandon Lewis accounting for Natchez High&8217;s goals. Natchez High missed on its next kick, and the Jaguars&8217; attempt to end it there failed when Drew Worthy put one just over the crossbar.

Then Buckles took his turn and put one in to force Van Norman to make it or go to a second shootout.

&8220;Shootouts are a game of momentum,&8221; NHS head coach Dennis Hogue said. &8220;If you miss the first one, it&8217;s do or die from there on out. I was telling them it&8217;s a lot like bowling. The pins are in the same place every frame. Keep your head down, pick a corner and put it there.

&8220;But Kent is in the eighth grade. He&8217;s started every game for us, and we&8217;ve only subbed him once. Can you imagine what he&8217;s going to be in four years? He&8217;s going to be phenomenal. It&8217;s just kind of a lot of pressure to put on the kid.&8221;

It was the Bulldogs&8217; first shootout this season, and it&8217;s something they haven&8217;t practiced much so far in the young season. They had a chance to get the win over a solid team despite the Jaguars controlling the ball most of the second half.

The Bulldogs controlled the ball most of the first half, stuck in two quick goals in the second half but allowed a goal with 7:38 left by Price that tied the score.

&8220;We worked on PKs in practice one time, and I guess next time we&8217;ll be better prepared for it,&8221; said Lewis, who accounted for both Natchez High goals during regulation. &8220;If we would have played a little harder, the game wouldn&8217;t have gone to a shootout. The game could have been done at the end.&8221;

The Jaguars had more opportunities to put it in the net in the second half with 10 shots on goal that didn&8217;t get in. Price&8217;s shot hit the left side of the goal to tie it up, and the Jaguars missed another shot after that when Justin Beckerson&8217;s attempt from about 25 yards out went high.

The Bulldogs had just four shots in the second half, including one from 35 yards out near the end that went wide left.

&8220;In the first half we were having problems with our passing,&8221; McCullough said. &8220;The speed of those guys is unreal. The second half we decided we had to take control early. It worked for a while, but it backfired on us and they got a goal. But we&8217;re missing a lot of guys. We&8217;re missing two starters, and we&8217;re trying to make amends with what we&8217;ve got.&8221;

The score was tied at 1-1 at halftime before Lewis found the ball in a crowd just inside the penalty box and drilled it in with 36:29 left for a 2-1 lead. The Jaguars kept firing and trying to get it in before Price scored to tie it up.

The Bulldogs&8217; Ross Smith had put one in the net on an assist from Taylor Hinson in the 25th minute, but they were ruled offsides.

&8220;The main thing is they communicate,&8221; Lewis said of North Pike. &8220;That&8217;s what we have to learn how to do. Communication wins games, and they had a lot of communication and are a well-coached team. That&8217;s one of our weaknesses &8212; communication. The last few games we&8217;ve been a kick-and-go-get-it type of team. We&8217;ve got to be able to communicate.&8221;

Lewis scored the team&8217;s first goal at the 6:38 mark on an unassisted play in front of the goal to tie the score at 1-1. The Jaguars had only three shots on goal, but the final one was good when Price put one off Buckles&8217; fingertips into the goal for a 1-0 lead at the 9:53 mark.

&8220;I&8217;d have paid to watch this game,&8221; Hogue said. &8220;That was a good soccer game. The first half we kept the ball on our end of the field. In the second half, I&8217;ve got to get a copy of Wes&8217; halftime talk. They came out controlling the ball, and we came out on our heels a little bit.&8221;