Tim Reeves | The Vicksburg Post

VICKSBURG — Natchez  High School has had its struggles the last two weeks in Warren County.
In consecutive weeks, the Bulldogs have dropped games to Warren Central and now Vicksburg, with the second coming as a 41-7 loss against the Vicksburg Gators.
And now, the Bulldogs have seen their 1-1 start to the season, fall to a record of 1-3.
“You build off all of it. You build off the positives and the negatives,” Natchez coach Roy Rigsby said. “Actually, the negatives show off your weaknesses more and those are the things that you need to improve on.
“We will improve.”
Despite a first quarter defensive touchdown that gave the Bulldogs an early lead, Natchez was unable to threaten Vicksburg for much of the game and not at all in the second half.
Tied at 7 coming out of halftime, the Gators unleashed a 28-point barrage that included a 90-yard kickoff return, a 43-yard touchdown drive that was the result of a Natchez fumble, a 50-yard touchdown drive and a 56-yard touchdown drive that ended with a touchdown with just 27 seconds left in the third quarter.
“We just lost any momentum that we had after that big play,” Rigsby said of Vicksburg’s kickoff return to open the second half. “They made a game-flipping play that we simply couldn’t recover from.”
The Vicksburg defense, which has now recorded eight consecutive quarters of shutout football, was solid from the first quarter on, rarely allowing Natchez inside of Vicksburg territory for most of the night.
The pressure Gator defenders were able to put on Bulldog junior quarterback Christopher Scott led to a number of sacks, incomplete passes and stalled drives.
The pressure turned up even more when the Gators were able to build their lead.
“We got to the point where we were two touchdowns down and you had to pass and that gives the defense the opportunity to pressure you and we were not able to sustain the pressure well,” Rigsby said. “That blew the game open for them.”
Scott finished the evening 8-for-25 with just 74 yards.
The Gator defense held the Bulldog running game to just 100 yards, with Desmond Dawson leading Natchez with 40 yards on the ground.
Natchez will again be on the road next Friday, as they travel to Jackson to take on Provine High School.