From staff reports

A week off didn’t help Vicksburg High change its football fortunes.

Richwood scored 34 points in the second half Friday night to blow open a close game and hand Vicksburg its second straight one-sided loss, 46-0 in Monroe, La.

The Gators, who only have three starters returning from last year’s Class 4A playoff team, have been outscored 93-6 in their first two games this season. The road doesn’t get any easier next week, either. Tylertown, the top-ranked team in Class 3A, comes to Memorial Stadium.

Before a 47-6 loss to Ocean Springs in the Red Carpet Bowl two weeks ago, it had been 10 years since a VHS team had been beaten by 40 or more points. Now, it’s happened two games in a row — and Tylertown beat Ocean Springs last week.

“It don’t get no easier. Tylertown is one of the better football teams in the state, period,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. “We’re going to go back to the drawing board. We can’t do anything other than 1-2-3. Right now they just don’t have a lot of football savvy.”

The Gators (0-2) followed the same pattern on Friday as they did against Ocean Springs two weeks ago. They trailed just 12-0 at halftime, but turnovers and an inneffective offense eventually wore down their resolve.

After forcing a quick three-and-out on the opening series of the second half, VHS returnman Alventray Tarleton fumbled a kick near his own 30-yard line. Richwood recovered and marched in for a touchdown to make it a three-score game and was off to the races.

The fumble was one of a half-dozen turnovers the Gators had on the night. For the season, Vicksburg has turned it over nearly a dozen times already.