VICKSBURG &045; This summer a well-known sports columnist came up with the idea of the&uot;vengeance scale.&uot;

The basic idea was to take acts of revenge from sports and movies and rank them on a scale of 1 to 10.

Vicksburg High’s demolition of Natchez on Friday night would have rated a solid 8.2.

Five different Gators scored touchdowns, Vicksburg rolled up 465 yards of total offense, and avenged last year’s bitter defeat to lowly Natchez with a 52-6 thumping of the Bulldogs.

Natchez beat Vicksburg 14-12 last season for its only win of the season.

&uot;That really filled a hole in us from last year,&uot; said Vicksburg tight end Sean Gibbs, who caught four passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. &uot;Coming out and being able to win like we did, it filled a big hole in our program.&uot;

Vicksburg’s defense forced six turnovers and held Natchez to 114 yards of total offense, including minus-2 rushing yards. Offensively, the Gators were also better than they had been all season.

After scoring just three touchdowns in the first two games, Vicksburg had doubled that number by halftime.

Cordarryl Gleese led the rushing attack with 71 yards and a touchdown on six carries, while Chavous McWhorters had 44 yards and two scores. Eugene Morgan threw two touchdown passes, and backup quarterback Stefan Gibbs tossed one.

Despite the lopsided final score, Natchez actually scored first.

Jason Bruce hit Rodney Gray for a 32-yard gain on third-and-7 from the VHS 49 midway through the first quarter. Four plays later they hooked up again, for a 30-yard touchdown that gave Natchez a 6-0 lead.

Gray finished the game with six catches for 97 yards and the touchdown for NHS, while Marvin Stampley had a sack and a fumble recovery.

It took Vicksburg exactly four plays to wake up, and Sean Gibbs provided the call.

Morgan dumped a short pass to the hulking tight end on a third-and-7 from midfield, and Gibbs plowed over two Natchez defenders on the way to a 17-yard gain. On the next play, Gleese took a handoff around the right side and sprinted into the end zone for a 33-yard score. Cameron Curtis added the extra point to make it 7-6, and Vicksburg never trailed again.

The Gators added three more touchdowns before halftime to take a 29-6 lead into the locker room.

None of the scoring drives lasted more than four plays.

&uot;That brought us back into it,&uot; VHS coach Alonzo Stevens said of Gibbs’ catch. &uot;We have a habit of playing down … That run emphasized what it was all about. We’ve got to fight.&uot;