GAUTIER—The Gautier Gators crushed the Natchez Bulldogs in the first round of the Class 5A South State football playoffs, winning 50-18 Friday night at Vaughan-Wallace Stadium.
The Gators will play at Florence in the second round next Friday night.
In a close first half against Natchez, Gautier’s effective special teams unit put its offense in a good spot with a blocked punt early in the first quarter to set up a 31-yard field goal by Eric Robinson.
Late in the quarter, Natchez got the first touchdown of the night with a 62-yard carry by running back Carl McDonald Jr. A missed two-point conversion kept the Bulldogs’ lead at 6-3.
Natchez added to its lead early in the second quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Kaden Walton to receiver Je’kari Douglas.
Trailing 12-3, Gautier scored on fourth down when receiver Kainen Rush took a screen pass from Trey Irving 32 yards to the end zone, bringing the score to 12-9.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Gautier special teams unit came up big again as it recovered a muffed ball.
The Gators struck quickly with a 16-yard touchdown run by Solomon Baggett. Gautier would hold its lead of 15-12 going into halftime.
Gautier took its momentum into the second half as the special teams forced a fumble to start the third quarter. On the Gators’ first play from scrimmage in the quarter, Baggett ran it in from 20 yards out for the score to make it 22-12.
The Gators then forced a three-and-out that resulted in outstanding field position again, this time at the Natchez 30. Gautier ended the short scoring drive by bringing in defensive lineman CJ McCreary to punch in a 1-yard touchdown to go up 29-12.
Walton answered for the Bulldogs with a 12-yard touchdown on a quarterback scramble to cut Gautier’s lead to 29-18.
The rest of the game was all Gators. They took a commanding 36-18 lead at the end of the third quarter with a 13-yard run by Irving.
The Gators built their lead to 50-18 in the fourth quarter with Baggett rumbling for a 45-yard touchdown and Irving running one in from 30 yards out.
Irving and Baggett shouldered the load for the Gators.
Irving threw for 112 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Baggett toted the ball 23 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Gautier’s defense and special teams shined in the win as well.
The Gators forced two turnovers on downs and got an interception from Jezreel Pogue while their special teams blocked a punt and recovered three fumbles.
Next week, the Gators will play a Florence team that dominated Wayne County 36-0 in the first round on Friday.
