Gators survive thriller

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 4, 2002

[10/05/02]The Vicksburg Gators controlled the ground, controlled the air and controlled the game clock.

Yet, coaches and players were still breating heavy as Madison threatened to tie the game up until the final play in a wild 38-31 Vicksburg win at Memorial Stadium.

Maurice Taylor rushed for 75 yards on six carries, had 69 yards receiving on four catches and scored a career-high four touchdowns in leading a Gators’ offense that churned out 463 total yards.

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“All you have to do is give him the ball in the open field and he is gone,” said quarterback Justin Henry, who completed 11 of 19 passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “We try to get him in mismatches so we can get him on linebackers because there isn’t a DB in the state that can guard him let alone a linebacker.”

The Gators’ offense also held the ball on offense for more than 42 minutes. The longest Madison Central drive was 3 minutes, 8 seconds.

Despite the mismatch in every statistical category, the Jaguars (3-3, 0-2) got an inspired performance from quarterback Dillon Suddeth. The senior rushed for 113 yards on 13 carries and threw for 52 more. His rushing stats would have been better if he hadn’t lost 21 yards on the final play that capped a crazy fourth quarter.

Darrell Williams’ 11-yard touchdown run the first of his career late in the third quarter gave Vicksburg a 38-24 lead going into the fourth.

Madison scored less than two minutes into the final quarter on a Jonathan Vance 1-yard run, his third touchdown run of the night.

After a Vicksburg punt, Madison took over with 5:32 left in the game, but Suddeth was intercepted by senior defensive back D’Eldrick Taylor to end that rally. D’Eldrick Taylor also caused a key fumble on a third-quarter possession as the Jaguars’ were rolling down the field.

“The defense came up big in the game when they had to,” Henry said. “It was a great all-around effort by our guys.”

After Taylor’s interception gave Vicksburg the ball on Madison’s 22-yard line, the Gators were whistled for four straight holding penalties forcing them into a fourth-and-32 from near midfield. One of the penalties nullified a would-be 38-yard touchdown run by Williams.

The Gators were forced to punt, giving the Jaguars a first-down on their own 28-yard line.

Suddeth completed three passes and the Jaguars got a 25-yard run by Kendrel King to get to the Gators’ 25-yard line. A pass to tight end Clifton Cotton would have tied the game, but it slipped off his fingertips.

Ray Kline and Casey Younger sacked Suddeth on the next play to force a fourth-and-long. The Gators swarmed Suddeth on the game’s final play, sacking him around the 50.

“We fight so hard, we just came up a little short,” an exhausted Suddeth said. “I’m so proud of everybody. We played hard and they played hard. It was a great game.”

Maurice Taylor’s two touchdown receptions 24 and 25 yards gave the Gators a 14-0 lead before King cut the lead in half with a 5-yard run 1:09 into the second quarter.

A Sean McGowan 23-yard field goal and Maurice Taylor’s third touchdown of the half a 14-yard run lifted Vicksburg to a 23-10 halftime lead.

“All I had was visions of the way J.J. (Brown) used to run behind Del (Ellis),” Maurice Taylor said. “All I had to do was follow him.”

Madison got to within six less than two minutes into the third quarter, 23-17, before Maurice Taylor sprinted 56 yards on the Gators’ next possession for his fourth score of the night.

The Gators start a three-game road swing on Friday night at Murrah.

“We’ll be fired up and come out and have a great week starting Monday,” Maurice Taylor said.