The Vicksburg Gators were called for a facemask penalty in the final four minutes of the game against Holmes County Central, but Kiaheam Flowers erased the previous mistake with an interception at the Jaguars 7-yard line and returned it for a touchdown.

Flowers’ interception was the final score of the game and solidified the Gators’ playoff aspirations with a 37-20 victory over the Jaguars.

Vicksburg’s win, coupled with Grenada’s 6-3 victory over Neshoba Central, gave it the No. 4 seed from Region 2-5A. Vicksburg (6-5, 3-4 Region 2-5A) will go on the road next week to top-ranked Oxford (9-2) for a first-round game.

Holmes County Central finished the season with a 6-5 record (3-4 in region play) after losing its last three games.

Everything fell into place for the Gators. Turnovers were kept to a minimum. The defense kept its eye on the ball long enough to come away with three interceptions, with Flowers picking two out the air and Elmer Johnson getting the other one.

Vicksburg coach Marcus Rogers was almost rendered speechless by the performance of his team and making his first trip to the playoffs as the Gators’ coach.

“We ran the ball good enough to move the chains. Joe Johnson is growing up in front of our eyes. He passed the ball real well tonight,” Rogers said. “Everybody caught a pass and everybody made a play. We answered the bell. That’s what happens when we go a whole game without a turnover.”

The Gators rushed for 122 yards and it was spread among Johnson, Tim Jackson, Tedarious Brown and Antonio Brown, who punched it in from the 1-yard line for the Gators first touchdown. Johnson also racked up 198 yards on 15-of-21 passing for three touchdowns, one to Brown and two to James Allen. The Gators got help from special teams with a 35-yard field goal by Greg Hayden in the fourth quarter.

Defense is something the Gators have hung their hat on all season and it showed up when the stakes were high.

“They’ve been holding us together all year, so it wasn’t surprising when we got the turnover,” Rogers said. “What was surprising when they scored a touchdown on a screen the drive before that. We knew it was coming, sat on it and missed the interception the first time. The next time we got it and pick six.”

The Jaguars took a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter. A blocked punt gave them great field position and Gecorius Wilson scored untouched on a 33-yard trot to the end zone. Robert Jackson put the first points on the board for Holmes County with a 28-yard rushing touchdown.

The Gators came back with 20 unanswered points to close out the game. Joe Johnson threw a touchdown pass to Tedarious Brown for the go-ahead score.

After the win, Rogers said the best thing for his team is stability and cleaning up the mental culture of the team.

“We’re trying to change the mindset over here. Vicksburg’s been a winning program for years, but in the last few years, it’s been down because of stability,” Rogers said. “You have a coach here that wants to be here and loves Vicksburg and wants to see it all the way through.