By Alexander Swatson

The Vicksburg Post

 

There’s a central theme around Warren Central’s football team. If spectators are unfamiliar with the “11 brothers are hard to beat” mantra, they’re reminded of it on Friday nights with T-shirts, the slogan painted on the Vikings’ field house, or when the team takes the field at home games.

After starting the season with a loss to Wayne County, the Vikings had to get the sour taste of defeat out of their locker room. The 11 brothers leaned on each other to pull out a 45-42 win against Pearl on Friday night.

Nick Wright had one of his extra point attempts blocked in the third quarter, but was able to showcase his poise with the go-ahead, 29-yard field goal with 9 seconds left in the game to win it.

Wright said his heart was racing during the play, but expected the game to fall on his shoulders after the back-and-forth pace the entire night.

“It’s so nerve-wracking getting out there and being the final option in the game,” Wright said. “I spend hours all week practicing kicking. I got a rush of blood going through my whole body.”

Warren Central defensive back Shockey Shaw kept his eye on his man and was aware of the football’s position in the air to come up with game changing deflections in the end zone.

Shaw made big plays in the fourth quarter to keep his team in the game.

He played tight coverage on Javerous Pierce to avoid giving up a 30-yard touchdown reception with just under 9 minutes left in the game. After a personal foul penalty on the Vikings gave the Pirates a first down on the 14-yard line, Shaw continued to agitate Pirates receiver Jared Patterson with another deflection.

The team’s D.J.’s — Knight and Lane — ran like bulls through the Pirates’ defense.

Each D.J. scored on short runs. Lane had a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Knight a 5-yarder off the left side of the field in the fourth quarter. Combined, the two running backs only had 65 rushing yards but were the heart of a balanced rushing attack that totaled 160 for the game.

“Overall we had a good game. We stuck together as a team and we just pulled it out,” Lane said.

Warren Central’s passing game also had a big night. Junior quarterback Jesse Wilson completed 13 of 28 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for a team-high 40 yards and a score.

Seven receivers caught at least one pass. Shaunterrence Walton led the team with five receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown. Miraculous Powers and Joe Shorter also hauled in TD passes.

Although the Vikings fell flat at times with fumbled snaps and penalties, they were able to correct those mistakes.

“There were a few missed assignments,” Lane said. “I got hit in the backfield. I didn’t blame my O-line, I told them to keep fighting and we got it.”

The Vikings forced two consecutive fourth down situations late in the game, which they converted into a game-tying touchdown and the winning field goal.

“The defense made a big stop of the game. The offense made a big play. We kicked the field goal and won the game,” Knight said.

VICKSBURG AT WARREN CENTRAL

• Friday, 7 p.m.

• Radio: 1490 AM (Vicksburg) and 105.5 FM (Warren Central)

• Online: For live scoring updates, visit facebook.com/thevicksburgpost or Twitter.com/vicksburgpost

• This will be the 35th edition of the Vicksburg-Warren Central game. WC leads the all-time series 26-8 and has won the last three meetings, but VHS has won six of the last 10.