Vicksburg High finished the season 9-4, its highest win total in eight years and just the third time this century it has won at least nine games. It reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season, which is a good sign for a program on the rise.

By those benchmarks, the season was far from a failure. It just wasn’t as good as it could have been, or as good as the Gators had hoped.

Friday’s 24-10 loss to Lake Cormorant in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs kept Vicksburg without a playoff win since 2008, and denied it the breakthrough victory the program craved to push it to the next level.

“I feel like we did make growth. But I feel like we left some points on the field in a couple of games,” said Vicksburg coach Marcus Rogers, who had his first winning season with the program and is 19-17 in his three seasons there. “At the end of the day, I feel like we’re so close. We’ve just got to continue to head in the right direction. Our program is heading in the right direction.”

This is the first time the Gators finished with a winning record since 2008, but at times they showed the same inconsistency that plagued them throughout that drought.

In the Gators’ region opener against Germantown in September, they committed four turnovers and lost 33-13. The same script played out Friday night.

A fumble inside the 5-yard line cost them a game-tying touchdown late in the third quarter. A blocked punt in the first quarter and an interception in the fourth led to 10 points for Lake Cormorant. Vicksburg rallied back to tie after falling behind 10-0 in the first 3 ½ minutes, but gave up the go-ahead touchdown on the next possession. Vicksburg never led in the game.

“I felt like all our losses this year were self-inflicted wounds. No one showed up and just beat us off the field,” Rogers said. “We’re right at the top of the hill, and we just have to get over the hump.”

They’ll have to wait until next August to make that push, and in the meantime there’s some work to do to restock the roster. Four offensive linemen and seven starters total on offense, including top receiver Raheam Moore, are graduating.

Quarterback Joe Johnson, who threw for more than 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns, will be back, as will versatile receiver Jeff Scott and running back Mike Sims.

The better news is on defense, where the bulk of a unit that posted two shutouts and held two other opponents to seven points or less is back.

“We’re losing seven starters on offense,” Rogers said, glumly, before some optimism quickly returned to his voice. “But on defense, everybody is back. We’re returning 10 starters on defense.”

That should allow the Gators to be a force again next season, which right now feels longer than just nine months away.

“We’re right there,” Rogers said. “You hate to say wait till next year, but that’s what it is.”