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Vicksburg High defenders tackle Terry running back Ronde Baker (5) during Friday's game. (Walter Frazier/For The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High football head coach Christopher Lacey talks to one of his players during Friday's 28-14 loss to Terry. (Walter Frazier/For The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High quarterback Jamikal Maxey (17) looks for a receiver while scrambling during Friday's game against Terry. (Walter Frazier/For The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High defensive back Donovan Brown tackles a Terry runner during Friday's game. Terry beat Vicksburg, 28-14. (Walter Frazier/For The Vicksburg Post)

Vicksburg High's Dayquan Warfield punts the football Friday against Terry. (Walter Frazier/For The Vicksburg Post)

The Vicksburg Gators were down by four touchdowns in the third quarter of Friday’s match-up with Terry before the offense got rolling.

Touchdown runs by DeCorey Knight Jr. and Cedrick Blackmore cut the deficit in half, but the comeback was too little, too late, to stop Vicksburg from falling to 0-4 on the season as they lost 28-14.

Despite the loss, Vicksburg coach Christopher Lacey said it was the effort he’s been waiting all season to see from his team. The Gators tallied two takeaways on defense.

“We can’t start off slow. We’ve got to play that way the entire time,” Lacey said. “But, I’m proud of them. That’s what I’ve been looking for them to do all year. That second effort when it gets tough.”

Knight’s 65-yard touchdown run got the Gators on the board in the third quarter. On their next offensive series, they put together a strong drive that mixed in passes to Marquis Knight and Jakoby Smith and was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run from Blackmore.

Suddenly, the Gators were back in the game, trailing 28-14 with more than six minutes to play in the contest.

The late spark by Vicksburg couldn’t overcome the Bulldogs fast start to the game, but Lacey said he hopes it helps his team overcome a slow start to the season.

“Tonight I saw kids locked in,” Lacey said. “Staying in the game, doing what they’re supposed to do when the calls weren’t going our way. If two plays hadn’t gone that way, the punt and that kind of stuff, we’ve got a game.”

After trading series through the first quarter, Terry found the end zone early in the second with a 9-yard touchdown on the ground to go up 7-0. Midway through the quarter, Terry added a second rushing score from the 2 yard-line after a punt snap sailed over Dayquan Warfield’s head and gave the Bulldogs a first-and-goal.

Mincer Minor gave Vicksburg a spark late in the half, picking off a pass at the 31-yard line to keep the score 14-0 heading into halftime.

Early in the third quarter, the Gators gave up a long drive before recovering a Terry fumble in its own end zone for a touchback. The Bulldogs added a 10-yard touchdown run on their next series before blocking a punt and returning it for their final score of the game with just under two minutes to play in the third quarter.

Lacey said the second effort from his team now needs to be applied for four quarters.

“I see my kids growing up tonight,” he said. “We’ve got a very young team, but they have some resilience in them and that’s what I’ve been waiting for all year. I’m so proud of these boys. We’ve just got to stay locked in.”

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