Mary G. Montgomery accomplished a first on Friday night.

The Vikings earned the school’s first football playoff victory with a 21-13 win over Dothan at Grider Field in Semmes, breaking a streak of eight straight first round playoff losses for a program that played its first game in 1947.

“What a feeling,” second-year Vikings coach Zach Golson said. “I am so happy for the players, coaches and this community,”

The school made five straight playoff berths from 1985-89, but suffered a first-round playoff loss each time. The Vikings then made back-to-back playoff appearances in 2001 and 2002, but again fell in the first round.

After that, the Vikings suffered 19 straight losing seasons before Golson arrived last season, stopping the playoff drought before another first-round loss.

This time, things were different for the Class 7A third-ranked Vikings (11-0).

The Vikings defense dominated the second half and Shondell Harris scored the game-winning touchdown on a 16-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“We had to be disciplined tonight,” Harris said. “The ball was a little slick in this (wet) weather, so we stuck to the ground, kept grinding and our offensive line really stepped up.”

Fifth-ranked Dothan (8-3) took control early as the Wolves drove 86 yards in 11 plays and scored on Sam Broadway’s 30-yard TD pass to Tamarion Peterson for a 6-0 lead. Broadway added a 40-yard scoring pass to cap an eight-play, 71-yard drive to make it 13-0.

Mary G. Montgomery answered with a 25-yard touchdown run to make to 13-7 at halftime.

In the second half, the Vikings took control. The Wolves second half possessions were punt, punt, turnover on downs, fumble, punt, downs.

“I told the team at halftime to stay focused, stay on assignments, and we did a better job keeping containment,” said senior JT Busby, who had a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to overtake Dothan and delivered a goal-line stand in the final seconds.

“We just found a way,” Golson said.

Getting defensive: The Vikings shut out the Wolves in the second half and held Dothan to a season-low 13 points.

Top play: Dothan drove inside the Vikings 10 in the final seconds and faced fourth-and-goal at the 7 with five seconds remaining. Broadway rolled out and found Jalen Corbitt in the back of the end zone, but he could make the catch inbounds. Busby was on the coverage for the Vikings as time expired.

Stat sheet: Broadway rushed for 71 yards on 10 carries for Dothan, Tamarion Peterson added 97 yards on 22 attempts. Broadways only two completions went for touchdowns. … For MGM, Javione Hawthorne had 14 rushes for 81 yards and Harris added 13 carries for 85 yards. James Bolton added five receptions for 87 yards. Jared Hollins passed for 154 yards.

By the numbers: 13, points for the Wolves, marking their lowest point total since scoring 7 in a loss to Prattville in September 2021. … 8, it was the Vikings’ closest point differential this season. … 11, wins for MGM this season, a new single-season school record.

Did you know?: The Vikings set a also set a single-season team record with 393 points this season.

Coachspeak: “We thought this game could be a number of different ways. We could jump on them or they could jump on us, but I told them at the end of the day just keep fighting.” – Golson

“We have a unique offense and we take pride in running it.” – Wolves coach Jed Kennedy

“There’s a reason they are undefeated, they have a special team.” – Kennedy

He said it: “All week, the theme was take what the defense gives us. They doubled up on James (Bolton), so we just started handing the ball off, and our backs made plays.” – Hollins

What’s next?: Mary Montgomery will host Enterprise next Friday.