These are the best of times for the Natchez High Bulldogs football program.

After going 11 years without a playoff berth, the Bulldogs not only made the playoffs this season, but showed they are here to stay awhile.

The Bulldogs pulled the upset of the playoffs thus far, knocking off the No. 8 ranked team in the state in the Petal Panthers 25-21 on the road in dramatic fashion.

Down 21-18, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown on a fourth down play with a minute remaining to take a four-point lead.

Petal then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Natchez recovered to win the game.

It seems hard to believe that just a few years ago, the Bulldogs lost 20 of 21 games, including an 0-11 record in 2002.

They were one of the worst teams in the entire Class 5A and needed a breath of fresh air.

In steps Lance Reed.

Reed is a former Bulldog football player, and was named to The Natchez Democrat’s All-Metro Team in 1990 as a linebacker.

Reed jumped at the opportunity to come back and rebuild his alma mater into the playoff contender it once was.

Hard work and patience started to pay off, as Natchez High took the steps it needed to take to become a contender once again.

First came the elusive winning record, then came a couple of years where the Bulldogs were just one win away from breaking that playoff drought.

After a discouraging loss to Wingfield last season that kept Natchez out of the playoffs, the Bulldogs worked even harder in the offseason to make sure this was their year.

It had to be, according to Reed. The coach had always said this year’s senior class would be the one to get the Bulldogs back into the playoffs.

The seniors were in eighth grade the year Reed came to Natchez, and they put their trust in the new coach.

They believed him when he told him they would take Natchez from 0-11 to the playoff promised land, and that drove them for four years to stay together and keep working for that goal.

It didn’t look good for the Bulldogs at the beginning of this year.

Natchez lost its first two region games and found itself in an early hole. But the seniors and the rest of the team found the strength to dig out of that hole and fulfill Reed’s promise.

Natchez won four consecutive region games, including a 31-6 cathartic victory over their old nemesis Wingfield that finally got that playoff monkey off their backs.

Many would think that would be enough for this team. I mean, after all, when you make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, you’re just happy to be there, right?

Apparently not. Senior wide receiver Ernest Jones told me that he didn’t think Petal was anything special and that Natchez would win the game.

I chalked it up to youthful bravado and enthusiasm, but apparently he knew what he was talking about.

The entire team is like that. They have no quit in them, and it comes from their coach.

Reed is a steadying influence on the sidelines. He doesn’t yell or scream at his players when they make a mistake. He just gives encouragement and tells them what they need to do to correct the mistake.

A demeanor like that rubs off on a team, and teaches them to be calm under pressure, which is exactly what they were against Petal.

Natchez will once again be a huge underdog in the second round of the playoffs when they host top 5 ranked Oak Grove.

But I know the Bulldog players think they will win the game. And at this point, who am I to pick against them?

Jeff Edwards is the sports editor for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3632 or jeff.edwards@natchezdemocrat.com