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VICKSBURG — Natchez High School was held to about 200 total yards of offense, but it was the Bulldogs’ defense that came through as they went on the road and defeated the Vicksburg High School Gators 14-6 on Friday.

This was indeed a big departure from the first two games of the season when MHSAA Class 5A Natchez High had to score over 50 points to defeat Class 6A Hancock High School on the road and Class 4A McComb High School in triple overtime.

“We played a lazy offensive game. We were missing our starting two tackles. But even with that, we struggled moving the ball,” Bulldogs head coach Steve Davis said. “Kaden Walton, he had about 150 passing yards. As a team, we probably had about 50 yards rushing.”

Davis added that the Bulldogs did not play with the energy and focus they did the first two games and that the offense didn’t play with its normal tempo and that they were “sluggish all night.” Some factors contributed to that. Surprisingly, field conditions was not one of them.

“We had a lot that happened earlier this week off the field. That kinda took its toll on us. Not being able to get the game plan fully in. It was one of those weeks where nothing went right,” Davis said.

Another factor that could very well have led to Natchez High’s offense struggling was the lack of practice because of Hurricane Francine.

“But we preach perseverance. All the hard work we put in, we can overcome certain circumstances and be able to prevail. And we did tonight,” Davis said.

Walton threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jekari Douglas and Jakel Irving had a four-yard touchdown run. But Davis said the Bulldogs left a lot more points on the field.

“We had several opportunities to score when we got in the red zone, but we couldn’t take advantage of them. We helped them to stop us offensively,” Davis said. “Defensively, we executed our game plan. We played 46 minutes. We gave up a touchdown with less than two minutes left.”

Davis said that Jeremiah Tillery had another big-time performance to lead a Bulldogs’ defense that, for the most part, held Vicksburg’s offense in check. The Gators fell to 0-3 overall.

“Jeremiah was all over the field, making tackles in the backfield. Jakel Irving and Micha Moore also stepped up,” Davis said.

This was the second time this season that the Bulldogs defeated a Class 6A team on the road. And the competition doesn’t get any easier.

Natchez High (3-0) welcomes Class 7A Ocean Springs High School to Tom F. Williams Memorial Stadium with kickoff next Friday at 7 p.m.

“We’ve going to get back to the drawing board and get back to work Sunday preparing for Ocean Springs,” Davis said.