MONROE — Vicksburg High’s early-season problems continued Saturday.

Richwood, La., withstood two early drives that netted the visiting Gators no points, then ran and passed their way to a 41-0 rout in a rare Saturday afternoon game.

The game was orginally scheduled for Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Vicksburg, but Tropical Storm Issac left the Vicksburg High field house and stadium wiithout power. The game was moved to Richwood, which has artificial turf, by mutual consent of both schools.

That made for a hot day for both teams. No one, though, was feeling hotter than first-year Vicksburg coach Tavares Johnson Sr. after the loss dropped his team to 0-2. The Gators have been outscored 90-7 in the two games.

“We have to address our offensive line,” Johnson said. “We moved up and down the field on our first couple of drives. Had we scored, I think it changes the game. But we need our men in the trenches to play through it. We’re getting beat in the trenches and we need to find some men to play in those trenches.”

Another big problem for the Gators was the secondary. They gave up three passes of more than 38 yards in the first half. Two went for scores of 41 and 59 yards as the Rams built a 21-0 lead.

Johnson made a move at the half and brought in De’Andre King and Edward Davis, two recruits off the Gators’ basketball team, to play the corners. Richwood quarterback David Allen completed only two passes in the second half against nickle coverage. He finished 6-of-11 passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

When the Rams did not hit the big pass, they usually got a good run off sweeps from running back Chris Wheeler. He had 133 yards on 16 carries, including a 28-yard touchdown with 2:16 left in the third quarter that made it 28-0.

The Rams tacked on two scores in the fourth quarter. The first came after the Gators lost a fumble inside their own 5-yard line. Ira Jackson got the second of his two short TD runs moments later.

The last score was the most galling for Vicksburg. The Rams were trying to kill the final three minutes when third-string running back Tarquis Allen ran through a spent defense for a 39-yard touchdown.

Vicksburg opened the game with a 50-yard march that reached the Richwood 29 before stalling. They tried a 46-yard field goal, but the snap went straight to kicker Garrett Watson and resulted in a 10-yard loss.

The Gators allowed one first down before forcing a punt. Taking over at the 33, they moved 63 yards in 10 plays to reach the Richwood 3-yard line. Jalen Williams, who had a team-high 73 yards on 13 carries, had a 31-yard run to get the ball to the 20. On third down from the 3, Tavares Johnson Jr.’s shovel pass lost a yard. On fourth down, Pat Brown was dropped for a 1-yard loss.

After taking over on downs, Allen changed the field position with a 38-yard bomb to Brown.

VHS will play at Tylertown on Friday night.