[11/15/02]It’s been 2 1/2 months since the Vicksburg Gators entered the season top-ranked in the state hosting the War Eagles of Wayne County.

Tonight at Memorial Stadium, the Gators will start their third season unranked, but again against the War Eagles.

This game against the Horn Lake War Eagles will have few similarities to the opener against Wayne County.

“They’re like Murrah and Callaway,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. “They’ll throw it 90 percent of the time and when they run, it’s usually a big run.”

Led by senior quarterback Danny Canizaro, who’s thrown for 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns, Horn Lake lines up in a no-huddle, four- and five receiver set.

But these receivers aren’t just fast, they make up the school’s 4-by-100 meter relay team. Cory Lawrence, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior, leads the team in receptions.

The Horn Lake passing game could look even better if a pair of Vicksburg players are not on the field. Starting cornerback Jermaine Wright is questionable after a violation of team rules and linebacker/cornerback D’Eldrick Taylor suffered a hit to the head against Warren Central and was also questionable.

“We can run the ball also,” third-year Horn Lake coach David Wilkerson said. “We play a numbers game. Our quarterback has been good all season, but they are so big and physical on defense. They are by far the biggest team we have faced this year.”

Wilkerson is also concerned after watching the last two game films of Gators’ fullback Phelan Gray. The senior has rushed for almost 400 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games, and Vicksburg enters this game fresh off a win over Warren Central and riding a three-game winning streak.

“Our guys are playing some great football,” Stevens said. “The guys up front are playing as good as they have all year.”

Similarly, the War Eagles are coming off a 27-24 thriller over archrival Southaven that elevated Horn Lake to the No. 3 seed in Region 1-5A.

Wilkerson came from Tupelo three years ago to take over a program that had never been to the playoffs.

“They were winning one or two games a year,” Wilkerson said. “A lot of people up here didn’t even know how the playoffs worked. I had people ask me if we play next week if we lose.”

Behind Canizaro and a junior/senior-laden team, the War Eagles won nine games for the first time in school history and only suffered losses to No. 1 South Panola and then-No. 3 Starkville.

While the excitement level is at a fever pitch in North Mississippi, the Gators are playing like they did last week: little hype, little talk, all focus.

“We are just glad we are at home,” Stevens said. “When you shake everything, all the hype and all, you have to be at home for the first one. I remember having butterflies when we went on the road to Columbus.

“It’s just tough on the road. It doesn’t matter how good you are, it’s rough on the road.”