NATCHEZ — For the second straight week, Natchez High School snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as the Bulldogs rallied from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Brookhaven High School Panthers 34-33 Friday night at Tom F. Williams Memorial Stadium.

“We’ve got fight. I don’t know what it is about this team. It wasn’t a question of if we would win,” Bulldogs head coach Roy Rigsby said. “I don’t know if it’s the slow starts. I’m proud of my kids for the way they fought.”

In this pivotal MHSAA Region 3-5A game for both teams, Natchez High found itself down 27-14 after Jaquarius Edwards’ 15-yard touchdown run with about 7:00 left in the fourth quarter. That was Edwards’s third scoring run of the, but the extra point was no good, leaving the deficit at 13 points.

Then the Bulldogs’ defense forced some critical three-and-outs by making the Panthers more of a passing team than they wanted to be. And that helped Natchez High senior quarterback Paul Hargrave throw three touchdown passes during a two-plus minute stretch that to give the home team a 34-27 lead with about three minutes left.

“The defense started to play more assignment-oriented football in the fourth quarter. We stopped the run,” Rigsby said. “Hargrave’s a cool-headed kid. In pressure situations, he’s calm. He proved that again tonight.”

Brookhaven made it a one-point game on Darius Robinson’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Dorian German with about a minute to go. But the two-point conversion attempt was no good, forcing the Panthers to go for an onside kick. The Bulldogs recovered and ran the clock out.

“They’ve got some athletes on the outside. They made the plays when it was time to make the plays,” Rigsby said about what allowed the Panthers’ offense to play so well for the first three and a half quarters.

Rigsby said that on offense, senior wide receivers James Singleton and Myzell Rogers had big games. They were part of Hargrave’s five-touchdown performance.

“Defensively, our linebackers played great,” Rigsby said.

Natchez High (5-2, 3-1) travels to Summit to take on North Pike High School Friday at 7 p.m