For the first time this season, the Vicksburg Gators will be playing a team that has a loss.

The loss, however, was three weeks ago when Clinton lost to Brookhaven by a touchdown. Since then, the Arrows have beaten Brandon, then-No. 3 and state championship hopeful Oak Grove and rival Madison Central last week.

The grooving Arrows will host the Gators, who are coming off a 30-8 trouncing in the Region 2-5A opener at Provine, tonight for homecoming.

&#8220We’ll be in a dogfight,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. &#8220Clinton has a good football team. But we have a good football team, too.”

The Gators have yet to show the results of a talent-laden club, breaking out to a 2-3 record. In contrast, the Arrows are riding high after wins over then-No. 3 Oak Grove and region-rival Madison Central.

&#8220Right now our offensive line is playing really well,” said second-year Clinton coach Scott Brown, whose team is 4-1 and ranked third in the state by The Associated Press. &#8220That enables us to run the football effectively and keeps the defense off the field.”

The Arrows provide a two-headed challenge on offense with explosive running back Amonte Harper (nine touchdowns) and quarterback Wesley Mounger (five rushing TDs, three passing). The duo combined for all of the Arrows’ touchdowns in last Friday’s 21-14 win over Madison Central.

&#8220Those two are a really good combination and they run behind a good offensive line,” Stevens said. &#8220Their defense is playing well also. They have a well-rounded football team.”

Clinton opened the year with two wins, then lost by a touchdown to Brookhaven, before taking two straight victories. It also will be Clinton’s homecoming, a distraction that sometimes haunts coaches because of the pomp and hoopla given to the annual event.

&#8220We’ll do our best to push that aside and not let that be a distraction,” Brown said.

More importantly, Brown said, is the fact that Vicksburg’s win over Clinton last year in essence bounced the Arrows from playoff contention. The Gators ended up with the final playoff spot.

Brown said many of the players from last year’s team returned this year and that game is still fresh.

&#8220We’ve talked about the loss to Vicksburg last year, the one that bounced us from the playoffs,” Brown said. &#8220That is one of the things we’ve been selling our guys on this week.”

Quarterback Stanton Price (519 yards, 3 touchdowns) leads the Gators’ offensive attack. After scoring 42 points in their opening game, Vicksburg has tallied only 50 points combined in the other four games.