October 26, 2006.

What began as a season with aspirations of not only making the playoffs, but driving deep into the postseason, has turned into a nightmare for the Vicksburg Gators.

The team has two wins against less-than-powerful Indianola Gentry and Greenville and was eliminated from the postseason after a 42-12 loss to Madison Central.

But want to know why the Gators will be home for the playoffs with a team as talented as any around? They cannot run the football. Period.

Vicksburg has run 217 times for 712 yards – as a team. The result is a 79-yard-per-game average, a 3.3 yards-per-carry average. The leading rusher on the team, Les Lemons, has 199 yards rushing through nine games.

On any level, save maybe the Canadian Football and Arena leagues, teams will have a hard time winning without a running game. The best team in this state is South Panola. Has been for the past four years. Guess what? The Tigers throw the ball about as often as they lose, which, judging by their 54-game winning streak, is rarely.

There is no secret as to what South Panola’s game plan is: run the football down the opponent’s throat.

Three runs of four yards each results in a first down every time. Three incomplete passes in a row results in a punt. Only three things can happen on a pass play and two of those are negative.

The high school game has evolved from the days of the Notre Dame Box. Defenses are more athletic and run confusing schemes, so it seems obvious that offenses should evolve alongside the defense.

Passing has become an integral part of winning in high school football, but being able to run the football results in wins. Madison Central, Clinton and Northwest Rankin are all battling for the top three spots in the race for the playoffs in Region 2-5A and none throw the ball unless utterly necessary. Warren Central and Provine, the two teams in the running for the final playoff spot in the region, use run-dominated offenses.

The three teams already eliminated from the playoffs – Greenville, Vicksburg and Murrah – rely much too heavily on the passing game.

There is little doubt the Gators have a wealth of offensive talent. Quarterback Stanton Price has completed 109 of 187 passes for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns. Four different Gators have more yards receiving than Lemons has rushing. So passing doesn’t seem to be the problem, it’s the teams that rely too heavily on passing that is the problem.

The Gators’ program has much soul-searching to do to figure out what went wrong this season. They will have 10 months to ponder what could have been, and what changes need to be made for next season.

For starters, it’s time to find a running game When the leading rusher on the team averages 22 yards per game, something needs to be changed.

If a running game is not found, next season could mirror this one.