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HAZLEHURST — Down 14-0 early in the first quarter and still trailing at halftime, things didn’t look so good for the MHSAA Class 5A Natchez High School Bulldogs. So much so that it seemed that for the second week in a row they would lose to a Class 3A team — this time on the road.

With senior quarterback Kaden Walton unable to play with an undisclosed injury, Natchez High turned to sophomore Kameron Morgan to lead Natchez High. And after a slow start, he engineered three second-half scoring drive – all of them ending in touchdown runs, as the Bulldogs somehow rallied to defeat the Hazlehurst High School Indians 26-20.

That come-from-behind victory snapped the Bulldogs’ two-game losing streak. And as head coach Steve Davis put it, he was glad to see his team play Natchez High football for the first time in a month.

“Let me give a huge shout-out to Kameron Morgan, who stepped in and played quarterback tonight. He did some things tonight to help us win this game,” Davis said. “He had some big runs. We knew this was going to be a run game. He ran the tempo for us in the second half.”

In addition to what Morgan did, Davis also said that Carl McDonald stepped up offensively. But once again, the Bulldogs had troubles putting points on the board when they got deep in Hazlehurst territory.

“We left too many red zone opportunities on the field,” Davis said.

However, he was pleased that the defense came up with big plays, whether it be 3-and-outs, forcing turnovers, or forcing the Indians (2-3) to turn the ball over on downs.

“We forced three turnovers. We had some big stops in the third and fourth quarters. We got physical. We tackled better. We ran the ball better,” Davis said. “I was pleased with the second-half effort.”

And that was with the Bulldogs being down three starters and a key player on special teams — Walton, wide receiver Ken Chatman, linebacker Jeremiah Tillery, and Greg Washington.

The only touchdown for Hazlehurst in the second half came on a kickoff return with about four minutes left in the third quarter that tied the game at 20-20. Natchez High scored the game-winning touchdown run with about 10 minutes to go in the game. The Bulldogs’ defense made sure that 26-20 score would stand the rest of the way.

Natchez High (4-2) plays host to North Pike High School next Friday at 7 p.m. at Tom F. Williams Memorial Stadium for not only homecoming, but also the MHSAA Region 3-5A opener.