VIDALIA, La. &045; The refreshment stands and bathrooms stationed inside the fences of Faircloth Drive and under the Viking Field bleachers did not receive a lot of traffic Friday night.

Heck, even those behind the counter hoping to serve you a Coke, a pack of M&M’s or nachos were not at their respective locations due to the pyrotechnics between their homestanding No. 2 Vikings and an explosive Jena offense that did not go quietly into the cool night.

A seemingly insurmountable 40-22 Vidalia deficit at the end of three periods of play turned into a Madden 2004 video game in the final 12 minutes, as the Vikings (5-0) unloaded with 28 fourth quarter points to earn a 50-46 victory, moving their regular season winless streak to 15 games.

&uot;We just wanted to thrill the crowd,&uot; Vidalia head coach Dee Faircloth said. &uot;(Jena) had the momentum there in the first half. We couldn’t stop them. We had some bad miss tackles, and they kept hopping on us.&uot;

Defense, we don’t need your stinking defense. Those were apparently the sentiments from both squads in a first half that saw Jena (2-3) take a 34-22 lead into the break.

While both defenses came to play in the third &045; Jena scored once and Vidalia none at all &045; quarterback Tony Hawkins and wing back C.J. Williams began to rev Vidalia’s offense in the final quarter.

On the first play from scrimmage after a Giants punt, with 343 left in the game, Hawkins found Williams, who had snuck behind the Jena secondary for a modest pickup until the 5-5 senior turned on the afterburners.

&uot;(Williams) just had his breakout game tonight,&uot; Hawkins said of his teammate. &uot;Every time I’d come to the sideline, Coach (Faircloth) was telling me he was open. I got him the ball, and he made things happen.&uot;

Williams sliced and diced down the Viking sideline, leaving carnage in his wake, as five Giant defenders grasped at blue jersey but could not bring the pumping Williams down.

As Jena’s secondary stared into the Viking Field earth, Williams scored on a 62-yard catch-and run to give the Vikings their first lead of the game, 44-40.

&uot;What I saw was open field. I wasn’t paying any attention to the defenders,&uot; said Williams, who finished with five catches for 189 yards and three scores. &uot;I saw the end zone and I went for it. My aunt passed earlier this week and I wanted this game for her.&uot;

Vidalia’s sideline and its fans were hopping like fish in grease after the score; however, one fact had slipped most of their minds &045; Jena had more than three minutes to work with.

And the Giants quieted the Viking faithful quickly, giving their followers reason to think they had slayed Goliath.

From its own 29, Jena moved the ball past midfield, and on third and 15, following a timeout, quarterback Adam Jones hit a streaking Rafael Dangerfield in stride for 45 yards to put the Giants back on top, 46-44, with 2:08 left.

&uot;Our defense let us down tonight,&uot; Jena head coach Mac Fowler said. &uot;The offense played well, but it came down at the end to who was going to make more plays, and we didn’t.&uot;

Just when you thought it was safe to presume the outcome was decided, the Vikings had one more trick up their sleeve.

After an inadvertent onsides kick from Jena, Vidalia began its game-winning drive on its side of midfield.

Catching the Giants defense, which expected Hawkins to air it out once more, off guard, Viking running back Michael Randall churned his way for 30 yards on consecutive plays to station the ball at the Jena 15 with less than two minutes remaining.

&uot;(Vidalia) has got a quality team. We got rattled,&uot; Fowler said.

After a illegal participation penalty moved the ball to the 10, Randall was stuffed for no gain on first and 5.

On the very next play it was Hawkins, who tossed three touchdowns and ran for four two-point conversions on the night, darted virtually untouched for his first career comeback victory as a starting quarterback.

&uot;Last year I didn’t have any, so this is great,&uot; Hawkins said.

Then, he paused and let a piercing, &uot;Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.&uot;

Jena’s thunder and lightning tailbacks &045; Marcus Howard and Bobby Purvis, respectively &045; that had 220 yards rushing in the first half combined, were held to 43 total after halftime.

Howard fumbled a key pitch on a potential Giant scoring drive, in which Steven Cooper recovered for Vidalia.

The Vikings ensuing drive culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Hawkins to Williams, where he reeled the ball in, pivoted and darted into the end zone.

&uot;Coach has been looking for a leader all season, and I told him he could count on me,&uot; Williams said. &uot;I had to step up. That’s what I’m supposed to do.&uot;

Not that the shootout needed any final summation, but taircloth said it simple:

&uot;It was a classic.&uot;