The positives were plenty in Vicksburg’s rousing 20-0 blowout of visiting Greenville-Weston on Friday.

The win, the first of the season, was a welcome boost of confidence for the Gators (1-6, 1-3 Region 2-6A), who play undefeated Madison Central on Friday.

“Our defense played great,” Vicksburg quarterback Cameron Cooksey said. “Our offense played great. It was incredible.”

The offense had a near-perfect balance, as Cooksey was able to hit some big completions spread among several different receivers and Kawayne Gaston had his best night of the season with 113 yards rushing and a touchdown.

The one turnover, a first-half Cooksey interception on fourth down, was even a positive as the Hornets intercepted the pass near the goalline, putting them in the shadow of their own goalposts.

Vicksburg got a banner effort from their special teams, as both Lamar Anthony, who also had an interception, and Adam Reed, who scored a rushing touchdown as well, set up scoring drives with big returns.

The defense put up a heroic effort, stoning the Hornets’ potent ground game and forcing quarterback Willie Mosby to beat them throwing the football.

The defensive effort was even more awesome considering the Gators surrendered 54 points to Grenada and 76 to Northwest Rankin in consecutive weeks.

The best part of the win was how it sets the Gators up to make an October postseason surge. Before the contest, Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said that if the Gators could sweep their next three home games and get a split in their final two road contests, they’d be right in the chase for the postseason despite an 0-6 start.

The win made Stevens look prophetic and gives the Gators a boost going into Friday’s tough matchup at second-ranked Madison Central.

“It’s just momentum,” Nasif said. “It lets us know that we can win. We’re ready for everybody, we’ll see how we do against Madison (Central) and we’ll take it one week at a time.”