For the first time in six seasons under coach Jason Bennett, the Vicksburg Gators are in a playoff drought.

The team failed to qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive year in 2009-10, the first time it had done that under Bennett’s leadership. With a large crop of returning starters, however, there’s a sense that the streak will stop at two.

“I think we’re more experienced. We have more experience going through the bad parts of a season, and with that and our playing experience, it’ll probably make them more hungry for that playoff spot,” Bennett said. “It’s unprecedented, and we don’t want to do that three years in a row.”

If this group plays to its potential, the third time should be the charm.

Eight seniors, seven of them starters, return to the lineup. Last year’s leading scorer, Perry Tolliver, is gone and now playing at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, but Chucky Hayden should be able to step in to fill that role.

Hayden was second on the team with five goals and added six assists last season, when the Gators finished with a 9-12-2 record. Jordan Watson, who scored three goals last year, will be counted on as a secondary scoring option.

“I put Chucky up top at striker. As far as somebody that can score at any time, on any play, that’s probably my man,” Bennett said.

The defense should be the Gators’ real strength. Goal keeper Taylor Brocato returns for his second season as a starter, after giving up an average of one goal per game as a junior. Fellow seniors Keaton Jones, Travis Haas, Tony Davidson and Juwan Jones will anchor the back line. Jones scored four goals last season.

“Keaton was the MVP for us, and he’s our quarterback in the back,” Bennett said. “Tony is on the left side and he’s getting a lot better at being skillful. Travis has been playing football and has to get his soccer legs back, and Juwan is growing up a lot.”

One of the biggest obstacles in Vicksburg’s quest to return to the postseason will be the schedule. Its four-team division includes three perennial playoff contenders, with VHS, Warren Central and Clinton. Only the top two go to the playoffs.

The Gators did beat Clinton in last year’s regular-season finale, however, and Bennett is hoping that momentum carries over into their division opener against the Arrows on Dec. 7.

“The first couple district games are critical. It is what it is, and you’ve got to play who you open with. We are coming off a defeat of them, so hopefully we can do it again,” Bennett said. “We’ve had a lot of competition in our district. It’s four teams, and with three strong ones and two go, somebody’s going to get left out. Again, it is what it is.”