Vicksburg High running back Jonathan Wilson carries Clinton defenders Maurice Woods (44) and Carl Tillman during the second half of the Gators’ 26-14 victory over the Arrows on Friday night. (Melanie Duncan ThortisThe Vicksburg Post)

[10/4/03]Vicksburg’s defense stepped up with a gutsy performance against Clinton as the Gators won 26-14 Friday night in Memorial Stadium.

Vicksburg stymied a potent Clinton (1-5, 0-2 Region 2-5A) ground attack, holding the Arrows to 111 rushing yards and forcing three fumbles.

Maurice Taylor provided the fireworks on offense with a 79-yard touchdown run that put VHS up for good.

“We bummed around and dropped two touchdowns early and had to get into a dogfight,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. “But like I told the kids earlier, offense sells tickets, defense is going to take us to the championship. The defense rolled its ugly head tonight and played some football.”

After a slow start to the season, the Gators (3-3, 2-0) have jumped to an early lead in the region with their second victory in as many weeks.

“We used to be the underdog,” said quarterback James Jackson, who ran in the game’s final touchdown with 5 seconds remaining. “Now teams are looking at us and we’re looking at them, and we’ve got momentum.”

The defense got a quick start.

Vicksburg forced a fumbled by Clinton’s star tailback Paul Cavett four plays into the Arrows’ first drive of the game. Ray Kline and Marcus Harris fell on the ball for the Gators at the Clinton 22-yard line.

A.J. Hicks made the turnover count on a 1-yard run for a 7-0 Vicksburg lead.

Through the remainder of the first half, Vicksburg’s defense forced two punts and a turnover on downs. Both teams were sitting right near 100 yards of offense at the half.

Vicksburg’s offense then sputtered and missed opportunities, dropping two likely touchdown receptions.

“It was (frustrating),” Jackson said. “But we’ve got so much speed, we just bounced back. We weren’t really worried about that.”

Clinton broke through the line to block Heath Daigre’s punt with 1 minute, 29 seconds remaining before halftime and recovered it at the Vicksburg 9. Cavett then ran it in from 5 yards to tie the game at 7 heading into the half.

During halftime, Jackson said Stevens called on him for leadership in the locker room.

“He looked at me and gave me the eye and said, You need to get them boys right,'” Jackson said. “I did the best I could to get them fired up.”

Opening the third quarter, Clinton ran into its own punting problems, snapping the ball over Barrett Cobb’s head.

Vicksburg recovered at the Clinton 2, and Johnathan Wilson rushed for the touchdown.

“We fought hard and I felt like we played well,” Clinton coach Pete Hurt said. “We showed a lot of character and made some plays. We had the one big miscue on the punt snap. Vicksburg’s too good a team to just give one to.”

Three minutes later, Taylor capped off his night, juking out of a pair of tackles and turning on his state-champion track speed for a 79-yard touchdown and a 20-7 lead.

Clinton fought right back, and Cavett answered with a 48-yard touchdown carry, cutting the Vicksburg lead to 6.

The Gator defense held strong the rest of the way while the offense pounded the ball on the ground to take up time.

“We had trouble running the football,” Hurt said. “We just weren’t quite good enough in the passing game to make enough happen.”

Known for its speedy receivers, Vicksburg ran the ball 23 times and passed twice in the second half.

“We just couldn’t get in sync. We dropped two early, so we said, Hey, let’s run it and get this win,'” Stevens said.