Considering the ground St. Amant has covered over the past two weeks, a one-score deficit at halftime wasn’t enough to bother the Gators.

A three-game losing streak, including a double-overtime loss to their arch-rival in the district opener, could have threatened to upset the remainder of the Gators’ season.

Instead of a deeper slide, St. Amant has managed to pull into a tie for second place in District 5-5A following Friday’s 27-21 win over Denham Springs at Yellow Jacket Stadium.

“This was a crucial win,” St. Amant coach David Oliver said. “Now we’re 4-3, so we’re above .500 with three games remaining, and they’re all district games. That was a good win for us on the road.”

St. Amant (4-3, 2-1 in District 5-5A) used a stretch of 27 unanswered points to overcome a seven-point deficit at halftime.

The Gators scored on their final possession of the first half to trail 14-7 at halftime and outscored the Yellow Jackets 20-0 in the third quarter, opening up a 27-14 lead on Dreyden Talbot’s 13-yard run with 45 seconds left in the quarter.

“I thought the third quarter was the big turning point,” Oliver said. “We got off to a slow start, we’re down 14-0, and we came back. At the end of the game, it came down to the end like it usually does with St. Amant-Denham. We made one more play than they did.”

Senior running back Jourden Hickerson rushed 10 times for 101 of his 147 yards in the second half to go over the 1,000-yard mark (1,040) for the season. He scored on a pair of runs of 7 and 1 yards that bridged the second and third quarters.

Part of that second-half surge included quarterback Brock Koontz finding Hayden Thodile for a 31-yard touchdown at the 7:29 mark of the third quarter.

Denham Springs (5-2, 2-2) had its four-game win streak snapped. The Yellow Jackets accounted for the final score on reserve quarterback Andre Adams’ 25-yard run with 8:08 to play. Their final drive ended on Kyler Rock’s fourth-down sack of Adams with 41 seconds left.

“We came out in the third quarter and we just weren’t dialed in,” Denham Springs coach Brett Beard, whose team was outgained 210-69 in the second half. “Against teams like this, you have to play complete games. We have to play 48 minutes.”

Hickerson concluded a drive with a 7-yard run to slice into Denham Springs’ 14-0 lead with 41 seconds left until halftime.

Denham Springs jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the result of a 49-yard drive and its defense setting up a 7-yard drive following Cameron Moore’s fumble recovery and 11-yard return.

Quarterback Braylon Collins threw the first of his two first-half touchdown passes, a 21-yard TD pass to Jaylen Williams, followed by a 5-yard TD to Jeremy Williams two plays after Moore’s fumble recovery.

“I was excited that our kids played hard,” Oliver said. “I wish we could play for 48 minutes, but we’re still growing into that. Maybe next week.”