LAUREL — The Natchez High Bulldogs knew what they had to do in order to make the MHSAA Class 5A South State Playoffs — win at Region 3-5A foe Laurel High School and do so by at least three points.

Unfortunately, neither of those things happened. Laurel jumped out to a big lead in the first half and coasted to a 47-12 win over Natchez High that knocked the Bulldogs out of the postseason race.

“Just proud of my team. We’re proud of them. Especially the seniors for laying the foundation for having success. We had a winning season,” Bulldogs coach Roy Rigsby said. “I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t make the dance. So we’ve got to go work hard so we do make the playoffs next year.”

The Bulldogs kept hurting themselves with turnovers, penalties and missed tackles while the Golden Tornadoes (7-4, 5-2) could do little wrong in front of their home crowd to solidify their playoff berth.

Laurel led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and by the time halftime arrived, the Golden Tornadoes enjoyed a commanding 31-0 advantage.

“They played solid ball, but we made a lot of mistakes,” Rigsby said. Another thing that hurt Natchez High was its inability to run the ball. The Bulldogs were held to just 56 yards on the ground.

Chris Scott went 21-for-32 passing for 173 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Paul Hargrave also saw some time at quarterback and he completed three of six passes for 42 yards and one touchdown. Dre Melton and Jaylin Pollard each had a TD reception.

“I’m proud of my coaching staff for making this season a success,” Rigsby said.

Natchez High finished the season with a 6-5 overall record, but a 3-4 mark in region play kept the Bulldogs out of the playoffs.