D’Eldrick Taylor has seen Callaway’s troupe of fleet-footed receivers before.

It didn’t take Taylor long to realize, as his Vicksburg team fell behind 14-0 in the Jackson Passing League over the summer, that Callaway (5-3, 3-1) was no longer a team to be taken for granted.

Vicksburg came back and won the Passing League championship with a timely interception by Taylor, but the stakes have been raised this Friday to a spot in the Region 2-5A playoffs.

“Surprising, kind of, because normally Callaway doesn’t have too much speed,” Taylor said. “We’ve seen a lot of film, and they run a lot of trick plays. It’s like a circus out there.”

When the Gators (5-3, 3-1) and the Chargers get together, Barnum and Bailey seems tame in comparison. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at North Jackson Field

Unfortunately for both teams, the fun can get out of hand, as was the case when both teams had four turnovers last week.

“The weakness of the Gators right now is that we’re not holding onto the ball,” Gators coach Alonzo Stevens said. “I think our kids understand that it’s not what other people are doing to them, it’s what they’re doing to themselves.”

Callaway is not the team the Gators want to supply with extra opportunities, especially with players like quarterback Geoffrey Gray and wide receiver Terrance Jones, who are dangerous with every touch of the ball. In a win on Sept. 27 over Madison Central, Gray set the Jackson Public Schools passing record with 336 yards.

“Callaway has tremendous athletes, but I feel the defense is going to be up to the task. If we can go out and play the ball we’re known to play, hard-nosed, solid defense, and make them earn what they get, I think we’ll be in good shape,” Stevens said.

From two offensive juggernauts, it may come as a surprise that defense is such a priority.

“The best thing we do here is play defense,” Chargers coach Gerry Anderson said. “We mirror each other with a lot of our athletes. They’re probably the fastest team we’ve faced this year and the only team that matches up well with our skill players.”

Though the teams have identical records, the Chargers have received praise for having a strong year while the Gators have struggled. Vicksburg entered the season ranked No. 1, but quickly fell from the rankings.

But Stevens says that the Gators are right where they want to be in a position for a region playoff spot.

“At this point in the season, basically all the goals we made back in August are still pretty much attainable. We’ve just got to play,” Stevens said. “We’ve just got to be more concerned, more focused on not making mistakes.”