woodville — Every time the Wilkinson County High School football team needed a big play in the first half of Friday night’s matchup with Natchez High School, junior quarterback Devin Voorhies made one.

The Wildcats’ quarterback kept drives alive on six different occasions by coming up with a first-down run or pass — including a 21-yard touchdown pass on third-down and 17 in the first quarter.

Those big plays led to Wilkinson County building a 24-8 lead in the first half — a lead they would hang on to for a 24-22 win.

“Everything we ran was working really,” Voorhies said about the first-half offense. “We were just taking what they gave us.”

Voorhies finished the game with 136 yards passing and 66 yards rushing. He also ran in all three of the Wildcats’ two-point conversions, which proved big in the two-point ball game.

Wildcats’ head coach Kenneth Brown said Voorhies helps provide the offense with balance and makes the team more unpredictable.

“He’s an athlete,” Brown said. “I thought he did an excellent job running the offense.”

Voorhies, who started at quarterback for the first time last season, said he was much more comfortable this year.

“I didn’t really have a feel for it last year,” he said. “Now I’m more experienced and better at what I do.”

A lot of the offensive success can be credited to wide receiver Allenzae Staggers, Voorhies said. Staggers finished the game with seven receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown.

“(Throwing to Staggers) was part of the gameplan,” Voorhies said. “It helps a lot having him, because he can go up and get the ball.”

The win over Natchez was huge for Wilkinson County’s confidence, Voorhies said, and he hopes the team can build on the season-opening win.

“It lets us know that any school can be beaten if we put in the hard work at practice all week,” he said. “My goal is to win the state championship and get everybody a ring.”