With the demise of the Jackson 7-on-7 passing league, Vicksburg High had to make other plans this summer.

The Vicksburg coaching staff decided to play in a series of tournaments and put one on themselves. Saturday, the Gators will host the first River City Shootout at Memorial Stadium.

Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens says the Shootout will help fill teams’ need of quality competition all in one day of action.

“We’re excited about our first River City Shootout,” Stevens said. “When the Jackson Passing League folded, we needed to find something else. It’s worked out. We were able to schedule tournaments at Madison Central, Mississippi State, and now, we’ll have ours and one more after this week, at Brandon. The best thing about playing the tournaments is that we’ve faced so many different people.”

Gator senior linebacker/wide receiver Bobby Twilley said the change to the new schedule was welcomed.

“The Jackson deal had gotten old,” Twilley said. “We kept winning it against the same teams. This summer, we’ve faced better competition and that’s made us better. We’ve gotten to play teams that actually run a spread offense.”