NATCHEZ — The feeling of abandonment “fueled the fire” for veteran Natchez High School players in Friday’s 33-7 win against Wilkinson County.

Counted out and treated like an afterthought in his mind, senior wide receiver Sidney Davis said winning impressively against a talented Wilkinson County team was the first step in earning that coveted respect in the Miss-Lou.

“We really needed it, because we felt like nobody believed in us,” Davis said. “We showed them what we were about, but we still have to get better.”

Fighting off misconceptions, the Natchez Bulldogs wanted to prove that they were a second half team, unwilling to fold in tightly contested matchups.

Going into the locker room with a 20-7 lead, the Bulldog defense came out with guns blazing in the second half. The Natchez defense brought pressure throughout, producing six sacks in the second half.

Senior linebacker Nehemiah Ford, who led the game with four sacks, said he and his teammates had a talk at halftime, inspiring each other to overcome last year’s perceptions of quitting in the face of adversity.

“We save our momentum for the second half,” said Ford, who answered head coach Melvin Pete’s challenge to compete. “Coming out of the locker room, we were ready to play.”

Pete encouraged the swagger, confidence and poise of his starting freshman quarterback Chris Scott, and though he wanted to put Scott in a situation to light up the scoreboard, Pete knew how important it was to establish the run early on.

Before Natchez turned the ball over on a poor snap from the gun, Pete’s offense ran the ball four consecutive times.

“I don’t want to be known as just a pass happy coach,” said Pete, wanting to illustrate his desire for putting a physical running game on the field.

Behind Natchez’s offensive line, the Bulldogs produced 130 yards rushing, which would have been more if not for mishandled snaps, prompting Scott to fall on the ball in the backfield.

Offensive linemen Donterrius Murray and Jacorey Carter said they executed the physical game plan to Pete’s delight.

“When we came out, we saw that they just had those defenders in there to clog up space,” Carter said. “Once we got to running it, the more tired they got, the more open it became. We took what they gave us and ran the ball.”

Part of Pete’s rushing game plan involved the read option, where Scott had the decision to either hand to John Ferguson, who recorded 122 rushing yards in the game on 14 carries, or keep the ball.

Scott was to read the defensive end, make a quick decision and either run with the ball or hand off to Ferguson for a run between the tackles.

Scott said Pete worked with him throughout the summer to perfect that read.

“That goes to Coach Pete,” Scott said. “We worked on it every day.”

Though the win against Wilkinson County represents only one win for the 2014 season, Anthony Robinson said the Bulldogs’ record means so much more than just 1-0.

“It’s just fuel for the fire,” Robinson said.