When Vicksburg went up 3-0 at the half over Forest Hill Tuesday, it was uncharted territory for the Gators.

Forest Hill got back into the contest with two quick goals, but Vicksburg answered a two-goal flurry to pull away for a 5-2 win.

The Gators (4-4-2) raced out of the gates with a flourish, as Garrett Watson scored on a laser of a pass by Sean East in the 14th minute. Watson added another goal, this one unassisted, to put the Gators up 2-0.

Tylar Jackson finished the half with an exclamation point in the 28th minute on another unassisted shot to give Vicksburg a big cushion.

But Forest Hill refused to go away. Ronnie Mayberry slipped past the Gator defense and found the back of the net, slipping a shot by the left post. A few minutes later, Trakarius King broke away from the Gator defense and converted a 1-vs.-1 in front of the goal box to cut the deficit to 3-2 at the 42nd minute.

“I was worried when we came out a little flat in the second half,” first-year Vicksburg coach Michael Guidry said. “We’re rarely in the position of having such a big cushion at halftime, so hopefully, we’ll learn something from this.”

Vicksburg answered the bell. A perfectly-executed penalty kick by Chris Green on a foul in the box gave the Gators some breathing room. D.J. Clark saved the best goal for last, as he went airborne for a cross pass and delivered a header perfectly into the back of the net.

The match was ended with five minutes and change remaining due to lightning.

Two good things resulted from the win. One was the Gators returned to the .500 mark. The other was the accomplishment of one of the offensive goals Guidry and the team put together in preseason.

“It’s one of those building blocks and we’ve got to 20 (goals), which is big, because we’re only halfway through the season,” Guidry said. “I wish we would’ve been able to celebrate it with a zero on the other side of the scoreboard, though.”