If Vicksburg would have played the first half against Northwest Rankin like the second half, it’d be the Gators celebrating their first win of the season.

The Gators outscored Northwest Rankin in the second half, but couldn’t overcome a 20-point halftime deficit as the Cougars earned a 36-21 victory on Friday in a battle of winless teams.

“It’s just been a combination of what we’ve been working on all this time,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. “We were just plugging away and we kept coming. I’m so proud of them because they could’ve laid down. They could have folded the tent. It’s hard on them, it’s hard on us. I saw improvement tonight.”

Vicksburg sophomore quarterback Cameron Cooksey struggled mightily in the first half, completing 7-of-21 passes for 37 yards thanks to some errant throws and plenty of drops. But in the second half he caught fire, completing 14-of-21 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, one a 23-yard strike to former quarterback Millan Nasif, the other a 20-yarder to senior wideout Alventray Tarleton.

“I had to get the first half out of my mind and do what I needed to do,” Cooksey said. “When I started completing some passes, my confidence started to go up.”

A 1-yard run by Kawayne Walker in the fourth quarter drew the Gators within 15 at 29-14 with 3:39 remaining. But the Gator defense couldn’t hold as Cougar running back Eddie Abraham scored the capping touchdown with 1:05 left.

Cooksey hit Tarleton for a 20-yard TD with 20 seconds left, but the Cougars recovered the ensuing onsides kick.

The Cougars (1-5, 1-1 Region 2-6A) erupted in the first half, using a punishing running game to grind the Gators down.

Abraham and Kurterrius Taylor combined on 12-play, 65-yard march capped by a 2-yard plunge by Taylor to put Northwest up 7-0 after the Mac Flynt PAT.

After a Vicksburg three-and-out, the Cougars struck again. Chase Taylor hit wideout Matt Bird on a 45-yard strike to put Northwest up two scores with 3:44 left in the first.

In the second quarter, Abraham scored on a 6-yard run to put the Cougars up 20-0.

The Gators plodded in the first half, with only two first downs and 17 yards of total offense.

However, in the second half, the Gators (0-6, 0-2) refused to haul down their colors. Northwest scored on its opening drive, set up by a 63-yard kickoff return by Jonathan Haley. Terez Davis completed an eight-play, 40-yard drive with a 3-yard run to put the Cougars up 26-0 with 8:45 left in the third.

After the Gators were turned away on fourth down in Cougar territory, their defense stopped the Cougars on fourth down on their own 34 to get the offense back on the field.

There, Cooksey caught fire.

He hit three of his first four passes, the biggest an 18-yard strike to Walker. Two plays later, he found Nasif on a crossing pattern and the former quarterback did the rest to get Vicksburg on the board. After the Travis Haas PAT, the lead was cut to 26-7.

The Gator defense rose to the challenge again on the ensuing Cougar drive and Northwest was forced to settle for a 26-yard Flynt field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lamar Anthony went 60 yards to set up Cooksey and the Gators at the Northwest 40. Cooksey hit five of his next seven passes to set up Gaston’s TD and Haas’ PAT cut the lead to 29-14.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com