The Vicksburg Gators ran the football well in their season opener against Holmes County Central. They spread it around in the passing game as well, and the defense forced turnovers and shut down the run.

In fact, it was hard to find a lot of negatives other than the score.

The Gators failed to score a touchdown on six trips inside the 20-yard line and lost 20-6. It was enough to convince head coach Christopher Lacey that the team is headed in the right direction with a young roster, provided they can finish some of those drives in the end zone rather than the red zone.

“The identity of what I want this team to look like, it looked like Friday. It’s just tearing off all that other stuff to make the car look pretty,” Lacey said. “We looked like I wanted to look — we want to run the ball and play good defense, and we did that Friday.”

Vicksburg had two 100-yard rushers — DeCorey Knight had 130 yards and Cedrick Blackmore had 105 — and junior quarterback Jamikal Maxey spread the ball around to six receivers. Maxey was 12-of-25 passing for 133 yards in his first varsity start.

The defense also forced three turnovers, and junior kicker Abel Gonzalez booted two field goals. It was a solid total team effort, with the notable exception of the red zone misfires.

Lacey said better attention to detail in practice this week by the players, and some new wrinkles to the offense as it approaches the goal line should change that.

“It was a winnable game for us if you look at the stat sheet. We were supposed to win that football game but we didn’t, so it’s my job to figure out what we can do better to get in the end zone,” Lacey said. “I know we’ve got a lot of new guys out there that are learning, but I don’t use that as an excuse. It’s just like anything else. We’ve just got to get in practice and the reps have to matter. You can’t take useless reps in red zone periods and things of that nature.”

Week 2 will have the Gators going on the road for the first time this season, as they head to South Jackson to face Forest Hill (0-1) Friday at 7 p.m. It’s a series Vicksburg has dominated, winning 18 of 19 meetings all-time and seven in a row over the past 30 years. That streak includes a 33-6 drubbing last year and lopsided victories in 2021 and 2022 as well.

Lacey said the Patriots are a team on the rise, however. They improved from one win in 2022 to 5-7 and a playoff appearance in 2023. Lacey said they have some playmakers that can give opponents trouble — especially if the Gators bog down deep in positive territory again.

“From what Forest Hill used to be maybe four or five years ago, they’re very competitive now,” Lacey said. “They beat us this summer twice in 7-on-7, so I know they have some good players over there. If they can do the same thing themselves, gelling, they’re going to be a good team.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES
All games start at 7 p.m.
Vicksburg at Forest Hill (Radio: 107.7 FM)
Pearl at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)
Porter’s Chapel at Riverdale (Radio: 104.5 FM)
St. Aloysius at East Rankin (Radio: 101.3 FM)
Briarfield Academy at Tallulah Academy
Port Gibson at Jim Hill