The Vicksburg Gators were close to an upset.

Tantalizingly close. Agonizingly close.

Like anything one wants the most, though, this too proved difficult to grasp.

Vicksburg failed to score on three trips inside Clarksdale’s 15-yard line — two of them in the fourth quarter — and fell behind early thanks to a couple of special teams breakdowns. The Gators were unable to overcome the mistakes and lost 28-17 to Mississippi’s second-ranked team in the Red Carpet Bowl at Warren Central.

“We were beating ourselves. Missed assignments. It was the little things. But nobody got down on anybody else. Everyone messes up. Everybody understands that,” Vicksburg receiver Delmon Robinson said. “They’re going to see us again in North State.”

Charles Mitchell ran for 108 yards and a touchdown for Clarksdale, which amassed 194 yards total on the ground and had four different players run for touchdowns.

Clarksdale scored in the final minute of the first half, and on its first possession of the second, to take a 22-3 lead and seemingly put the game on ice.

Vicksburg stormed back, though, behind the passing of Stanton Price.

The left-handed senior went 6-for-6 on the Gators’ next drive, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to Les Lemons. After Clarksdale drove 70 yards to take a 28-9 lead on Tim Jackson’s 5-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter, Price brought VHS back again.

He completed a short 10-yard pass to Antonio Norfort, then a 34-yard strike to Lemons for another touchdown. A 2-point conversion run by Robinson off a faked extra point cut it to 28-17 with 10:54 to play.

“You could say it was early jitters,” Price said of the difference between the Gators’ first half and their second. “But the second half we got those out of the way.”

Vicksburg’s defense finally stopped the Wildcats on the next possession, and the special teams came up with a huge play. Cordell Watkins came in off the edge untouched and blocked the punt to give VHS the ball at Clarksdale’s 13-yard line.

On the first play, however, the Gators were flagged for holding in the backfield and the resulting 17-yard penalty backed them up to the 30. Price’s hot streak ended with four straight incompletions — including one on fourth-and-22 that just missed Robinson at the goal line — and they came away with nothing.

Vicksburg’s defense held Clarksdale again, though, and the special teams came up with another blocked punt. VHS took over at the 38-yard line, and Price found Robinson at the 5 on the next play. Three more passes went nowhere, and Ryan Ferrington’s 22-yard field goal attempt was blocked with 2:09 to play.

Clarksdale got three first downs, the last on a 56-yard run by Mitchell with less than a minute to play, and was able to run out the clock.

“They were coming hard. They’re better than I thought they were,” said Clarksdale quarterback Brandon Williams, who was 10-of-16 passing for 141 yards. He also ran for a touchdown. “We barely got out of here. Vicksburg was ready for the number two team. We played a little harder and got the win.”

Although special teams gave Vicksburg a chance in the fourth quarter, it also hurt them early. Nathan Hampton returned the opening kickoff 61 yards to set up Clarksdale’s first touchdown, and a short punt early in the third quarter gave the Wildcats another short field. They converted that into a touchdown, too.

Despite the miscues, the Gators were encouraged by their performance. The defense only allowed two length-of-the field drives, and the passing game clicked in the second half. Price finished with 183 yards on 19-of-28 passing, and Lemons caught six balls for 85 yards and two TDs.

The two blocked punts were also a bright spot. Add it all up, and the Gators feel they made a statement that they’ll be a factor in Class 4A by the end of the season.

“We wanted to come out and show we can compete with the best,” Price said. “It’s going to help motivate us every day in practice so we can meet up with them again. Hopefully it’ll be a different outcome.”