The Vicksburg Gators didn’t want to be in this position.

They’d much rather have been celebrating a region championship, waiting for a fourth-place team to come to Memorial Stadium and having a rather easy time of it in the first round of the playoffs. But it didn’t work out that way. The Gators are the fourth-place team. They’re traveling. But, they’re still celebrating. After all, it beats what they were doing at this time last year.

Vicksburg hits the road tonight for a first-round Class 4A playoff game at West Point. It marks the Gators’ return to the postseason after a one-year absence that made head coach Alonzo Stevens realize how special making the playoffs really is.

“You want to go in as the top seed, but the bottom line is to get in,” Stevens said. “I’d rather be in The Swamp, but I’m excited because last year at this time it was over.”

Vicksburg had a chance to host a first-round game and avoid mighty West Point, which has a 9-1 record and is ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press Class 4A poll. VHS lost its last two games, though, by a total of eight points to Canton and Ridgeland. Another region loss to Yazoo City was by seven points. A difference of two touchdowns, give or take a 2-point conversion, dropped the Gators to fourth place and sent them on the road.

The close games make Vicksburg’s 6-4 record a little deceiving, but it has also earned the Gators an unwanted label as underachievers in a region they were predicted to finish first or second. Turnovers and missed opportunities have plagued the Gators in each of their losses.

“We just can’t think about it. We’re starting a new season now and we’re 0-0,” VHS receiver Les Lemons said. “If we think about what we need to do, we can take care of business.”

West Point had almost as many close games as Vicksburg, but with opposite results.

The Green Wave dropped its opener to Shannon, 36-35, then ripped off nine straight victories. Included in those nine were four wins by a touchdown or less.

While it is a tough draw for the Gators, Stevens felt it was a good matchup.

He was also unafraid of the idea of traveling, figuring his team plays better on the road. VHS was 4-3 in games played in Warren County this season — including a loss to Clarksdale in the season-opening Red Carpet Bowl at Warren Central, then a victory at Warren Central the following week — and 2-1 on the road.

“I’ve had, this year, my worst games at home. So I’ll embrace the road,” Stevens said with a laugh. “It’s going to be difficult. But the bottom line is, the field is still 100 yards and you’ve got to go play.

“We’re not crying about what happened.”