Once upon a time, in a rivalry far, far away, the Vicksburg Gators were routinely beaten and humiliated by their bigger, meaner crosstown cousins, the Warren Central Vikings.

No matter how big a lead they had, no matter how hard they tried, there was nothing the Gators could do that was enough to convince everyone that they would ever stack up to the Vikings.

Then, one magical November night, something remarkable happened — the Gators won. Then they won again. And they kept on winning until, heading into the 31st annual showdown with Warren Central tonight, it finally seems like they have the upper hand.

Vicksburg has won four in a row in the series. It’s been a Cinderella-like turnaround in a rivalry where Warren Central won 20 of the first 21 meetings.