The Vicksburg Gators are hitting the road for the first game of their region schedule, Friday night against Germantown.

It’s a big game against another top contender in Region 2-5A. However, Vicksburg coach Marcus Rogers isn’t concerned with playing such an important game so early in the season.

“One of the reasons I played that bye week game was so we stay in rhythm. It doesn’t matter if we play them this week or the last,” Rogers said. “I think we’re in a good place right now execution-wise offensively, defensively, special teams. It really doesn’t matter when we play them.”

Germantown is 2-2 this season, but has established itself as a top team in Class 5A. The Mavericks won 19 games combined in 2014 and 2015 and have only had one losing season since the school opened in 2011.
Being a region game against a team that has placed well over the past few years makes it a big deal, but the Gators aren’t going to put any more pressure on themselves by trying to prove anything.

“We’re just going to do what we do and just execute,” Rogers said. “If we do what we’re suppose to do it doesn’t matter about the opponent.”

Rogers hopes the Gators (4-1) have a better game than last year when Germantown came to Memorial Stadium coming off its bye week. Vicksburg committed five turnovers, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown, in a 31-12 loss.

“Last year it came at a time when we were 3-1, and they came up and beat us pretty good. We made a lot of mistakes, but now it’s going to take us going out and executing in all three phases,” Rogers said.

He did say the Mavericks are not the same team they were last year after losing several NCAA Division I recruits to graduation. However, Germantown is a well-coached team, he said, with a staff of head coaches working as assistants.

“They are a very talented group,” Rogers said. “What you see is what you get.”

He said Germantown’s strength is its defensive line, with players like senior defensive end Mark Smith II, senior middle linebacker and defensive end Raymond Carter, senior defensive tackle and defensive end Nathan Perry and junior defensive end Tavian Johnson. Eight players have at least a half a sack this season.

“That’s where the game is won, in the trenches. Any time you have a good defensive line, you’ve got a chance,” Rogers said.

The Gators’ defense is strong itself. It has not given up a touchdown in the past two games. They shut out Yazoo City two weeks ago, and Natchez’s only touchdown last week was scored on a defensive fumble recovery in the end zone.

Rogers said he expects that kind of play from his team, and it doesn’t surprise him that they’ve been successful in keeping the other team out of the end zone.

“We’re hanging our hat on defense. We’re the leading scoring team in our region, but we’re a defensive ball club,” Rogers said. “(We’ll) try to make it a third week in a row.”

Rogers said his team responded well last week against Natchez, going into halftime tied at 7 and ending the night victorious in a 41-7 rout. It took the team a little time to feel the Bulldogs out, but once the Gators caught on they took over. Rogers said his team had perseverance and fortitude.

“It’s just a testament to where the program is going,” Rogers said.

He added the Gators are going into this week’s game “fully loaded” with many injured players getting back in the game including senior Devontay Knight who is coming off of ACL surgery.

“We’re ready to play,” he said.