For an offense that’s averaging 26 points and nearly 400 yards per game, Vicksburg High sure does seem to have a lot of question marks these days.

The Gators are coming off a pair of uneven performances against Terry and Warren Central in which their mistakes seemed to overshadow their highlights. They dropped a half-dozen passes and committed two turnovers in suffering their first loss of the season, 42-21, last week against Warren Central.

Throw in an injury to leading rusher Marlon Hodge, and it’s enough to raise an eyebrow or two.

“We had a lot of drops on screens. You watch it on film, and they were there. A couple of those were big, on third-and-5, third-and-8,” Vicksburg coach Marcus Rogers said. “It hurt us not catching those dropped passes, but we’re not going to cry over it. We’re going to get ready for Yazoo City.”

There’s little time to do anything but work and get better. The Gators (2-1) go on the road Friday to play a Yazoo City team that should provide good medicine for what ails them.

Yazoo City (0-3) has given up 124 points in its first three games. If ever there was a defense the Gators’ offense can get right against, this seems to be it.

“It’s a good game to get your confidence back. They’ve got a couple of good ballplayers like any other team that has produced some NFL talent. They’ve got a pretty good running back and a defensive lineman that’s active, as well as a quarterback that’s athletic,” Rogers said. “They’re not going to have that complete team like teams in our district, so it’s a good game for us to get back on track and get back on the winning side of things.”

Rogers said the Gators will tinker with the offense. Some is by design, and some of it is by necessity.

Hodge, who averaged 6.4 yards per carry in the first two games, sprained his left knee in the second quarter against Warren Central. He’s expected to miss 2 to 4 weeks.

To pick up the slack, Rogers said the Gators will employ an array of tactics and weapons. Everything from giving other running backs more carries to calling more quarterback runs and screen passes is on the table, Rogers said, and should pay dividends in the long run.

“Mike Sims will be the main running back. We’ve got a couple of other kids we’ve been looking at the last couple of days, and I think we’ll be able to get through these next couple of weeks and by the time we get to Germantown we’ll have some grown guys that’s experienced and have enough Friday night lights under their belt to be successful,” Rogers said.

Having a week to reboot the offense will also help.

After Hodge went down against Warren Central, Vicksburg only had nine rushing yards on 12 attempts. Rogers that stemmed from having to adjust the game plan on the fly against a defense that typically ranks among the best in the state.

“We played a good defense. Also, the game plan was to feed Marlon,” Rogers said. “The first quarter, he was hard to tackle. It took three or four guys to bring him down. We were going to feed him, pick our spots to throw the football, and try to stay balanced. When he got injured, it took that part of the game plan out and hurt us in the long run not being able to sustain it.”

All in all, the offensive issues didn’t seem too troubling for Rogers. The Gators, after all, have still been incredibly productive even when they’ve hurt themselves. Ironing out the rough spots could turn that into a truly explosive unit.

“Plenty of explosiveness, and the future is bright,” Rogers said. “We had a pretty good practice (Monday) morning. The kids are upbeat. They know we still have a goal. Like I told them, I don’t think there’s a 5A team better than Warren Central. With that being said, we ought to be able to get to where we’re trying to achieve.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES

All games start at 7 p.m.

Natchez at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)

Vicksburg at Yazoo City (Radio: 101.3 FM)

Hillcrest Christian at PCA (Radio: 104.5 FM)

Washington School at St. Aloysius (101.3 FM)

Unity Christian at Rebul Academy

Sharkey-Issaquena at Delta Streets

Tallulah Academy at Tensas Academy

Central Hinds at River Oaks

Port Gibson at Terry

Madison Parish at Montgomery

Online: For live scoring updates on Friday night, visit twitter.com/vixpostsports or

facebook.com/thevicksburgpost