JACKSON — With Natchez High holding on to a precarious 6-0 lead over Wingfield at halftime, the Bulldogs had to have something happen to wake up their offense.

That something occurred on the opening kickoff of the second half as Natchez High recovered a Wingfield fumble that resulted in the first of Kevin Bailey’s three third-quarter touchdowns as the Bulldogs pulled away for a 34-0 win in a pivotal Region 3-6A game Friday night.

Neither team could get much going on offense as the defenses rose to the occasion throughout the first half. The only points the Bulldogs scored came on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Javon Washington to Raymond Williams in the first quarter.

“They contained us. We weren’t as efficient as we would like to have been in the first half,” Natchez High head coach Lance Reed said. “Wingfield does have a very athletic defense.”

After giving up 30 points in a come-from-behind win at Terry a week earlier, the Bulldogs were determined to get a much better effort from their defense. And that’s exactly what happened as they kept the Falcons off the scoreboard.

“We’re pleased with the effort. We’re pleased in containing a pretty solid Wingfield offense,” Reed said.

Reed added that the turnover Natchez High’s kickoff coverage team created was the pivotal moment in the game. Had Wingfield (3-7, 1-5) held on to the ball and eventually scored, it would have made for quite an interesting game, Reed said.

Bailey, who had 149 yards rushing on 22 carries, scored on a pair of 3-yard runs and a 2-yard run to give the Bulldogs a commanding 27-0 lead. Washington threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Scott Turner in the fourth quarter.

Washington had another solid outing as he completed 18 of 27 passes for 223 yards and no interceptions. Turner had 10 receptions for 127 yards. The Bulldogs had a balanced offense performance in this game with 256 total rushing yards to go with the 223 passing yards.

Natchez High improved to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in Region 3-6A. They play host to Hattiesburg next Friday in the regular-season finale.