CLINTON – Vicksburg High got a fourth-quarter jolt of adrenaline Friday night, but it came way too late for the Gators to take down the sixth-ranked Clinton Arrows.

Clinton senior running back Amonte Harper rushed 29 times for 204 yards and a touchdown and the Arrows’ defense harassed the Gators all night long in a 21-14 homecoming victory.

The Arrows moved to 2-0 in Region 2-5A play, while the Gators are still looking for their first region victory.

&#8220We fought all night and that’s all I can ask for,” said Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens. &#8220We are not going to throw in the towel. We dug ourselves a big hole, but we are not going to quit.”

Clinton roared out to a 21-0 lead in the third quarter behind a solid running game and relentless defense. The unit, led by senior linebacker Corey Ray, lined up in several different formations, played at times with no down linemen and rushed from every direction.

Sophomore Les Lemons, who started his first high school game at quarterback, passed for 54 yards and rushed for 49 more in the first half, but the Gators could not break into the end zone.

&#8220We learned right before the game that they were going to put (Lemons) at quarterback and we hadn’t seen much film on him at QB,” said Ray, who had three sacks but was in the backfield chasing Vicksburg players all night. &#8220We knew we had to contain him and we did that. We played together all game.”

Mounger gave Clinton a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard QB keeper midway through the first quarter, and the Arrows took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 4-yard touchdown plunge from Harper.

After an exchange of punts to start the second half, Clinton drove 53 yards in six plays, capped by a 13-yard Mounger run. Joe Cole’s third PAT resulted in a 21-0 lead.

&#8220We thought we were going to be able to throw it a lot tonight, but when we couldn’t, we just started running it right at them,” said Harper, who had 130 rushing yards at halftime. &#8220The offensive line came out and blocked all night.”

Vicksburg changed quarterbacks at the start of the fourth quarter, opting for the lefty-throwing junior Stanton Price. The change quickly paid off as the Gators drove 71 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 7-yard pass from Price to Vernon Wolfe.

&#8220Both of our quarterbacks are great competitors and they both bring something to the table,” Stevens said of his two signal-callers. &#8220When you have two quarterbacks like that, you have to try both of them.”

Vicksburg recovered a Harper fumble at its own 42-yard line with 7 minutes, 3 seconds to play. The Gators drove 58 yards in 14 plays, with Price hitting John Qualls on a 7-yard touchdown to get them within a touchdown with just over a minute to play.

The Gators tried an onsides kick, but it squirted out of bounds and the Arrows ran out the clock.