GAUTIER, Mississippi -- Here are a few things that were going on in 1999: Bill Clinton was President Beverly Hills 90210 was a top TV show The Y2K problem was a thing Bluetooth technology was introduced Spongebob Squarepants debuted on Nickelodeon That year also marked the last time the Gautier High School football team was 3-0 to start a season -- until Friday night. The Gators jumped out to a 17-0 lead against visiting 6A Hancock, withstood a second half rally by the Hawks and went on to a 34-20 win. "A lot of it is just confidence and believing in each other, believing in what we're doing," said Gautier head coach Marc High on his team's 3-0 start. "We put together a philosophy and a thought process and everybody's bought into it. "I think a lot of times when everybody buys into something and you develop a family atmosphere, it pushes people to their limit to be the best they can be." Gautier opened up its first half lead with a rushing touchdown from Jordan Irving, an 18-yard TD pass from Dalyn McDonald to Tyrese Cumbest, and a field goal from Kyle Gager. But the Hawks, who came into the game 2-0, made some halftime adjustments and began to find some offensive success in the second half, cutting the lead to 17-13 when Caleb Garcia connected with Peyton Miller on an eight-yard scoring play. The Gautier defense, however, rose to the challenge, with linebacker Tennille Sellers intercepting Garcia early in the fourth quarter. The turnover led to a one-yard run by Drake Thornton to pad the Gator lead to 24-13. Hancock wouldn't fold, though, with a six-yard TD run by Trenton Ladner cutting the lead to 24-20 midway through the fourth quarter. But Sellers once again came to the rescue, intercepting Garcia to end the Hawks' hopes of completing a comeback. Gager would add his second field goal of the night and Chris Chandler scored the final Gautier touchdown with a 26-yard run with just over a minute to play. "Hat's off to Hancock. They're a really good squad," High said. "We noticed they were coming out and trying to do some different things in the second half. Our kids adjusted to it and we kept pressing. That comes from a lot of senior leadership and a great job by the assistant coaches making adjustments." McDonald finished the game with completing 7-15 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 66 yards and a score. Gautier will face its third 6A school in four weeks next Friday as it travels to face sister school Pascagoula. High said the Gators testing themselves against the larger schools can only help when region play begins a week later. "It helps our kids' confidence, gaining confidence," he said. "They push each other. That's our big spiel with the team leaders right now -- confidence."