Warren Central’s boys’ soccer team will play about 22 games in the regular season. Realistically, only one of them matters.

The Vikings go on the road Monday night to face Division 3-6A rival — and longtime nemesis — Clinton. The Arrows have won eight consecutive games in the series and all but two meetings since 2004. The girls’ game will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the boys at 7.

With perennial cellar dweller Greenville and a weak Jackson Public Schools team — this season Provine, previously Murrah — rounding out the division, the head-to-head victories over Warren Central have meant a lot of championships for Clinton as well. With one of their best teams in several years, the Vikings are finally ready to end the losing streak and claim their first division title since 2010.

“It’s the only game that matters to me. I want to get a patch on my letterman (jacket),” said WC senior forward Sean Dixon, an East Central Community College signee who has nine goals and nine assists this season.

Warren Central (14-3-2, 1-0 Division 3-6A) has won or tied eight of its last nine games to come into Monday’s game red-hot. More importantly, they’re healthy and at full strength, which is something coach Greg Head said they haven’t been in a while when facing Clinton (8-8-3, 1-0).

“It always seems that something comes up. Last year we had kids with red cards. This year we had an ice storm and haven’t been able to get on the field,” Head said after a win over Greenville on Saturday. “We’ve never practiced on a Sunday, but we’re coming in tomorrow to practice because we didn’t get enough running today. Because that game matters.”

The two programs have vastly different postseason pedigrees. Warren Central hasn’t won a playoff game since 2010, while Clinton has several state championships to its credit and reached the Class 6A semifinals last season.

Part of the reason for that stems from Clinton’s success against Warren Central. The winner almost always claims the division title and a slightly easier path through the playoffs. The loser has to take a long road trip to face a division champion — this year that will likely be Southaven — or a closer perennial power like Madison Central or Northwest Rankin.

Head admitted that the frustration of always being second-best in the division is starting to wear on him.

“I haven’t forgotten the headline from last year, ‘Frustrated Again.’ I cut that out,” Head said. “We’re tired of Clinton beating us every year. We are frustrated. This year, nobody’s red-carded and we’re healthy.”

This time, Head added, he feels the Vikings have one of their best teams in recent memory and an excellent chance to dethrone the Arrows. The striker tandem of Braylen Greer and Sean Dixon, both East Central Community College signees, has combined for 29 goals and 20 assists.

Behind them, the defense has 10 shutouts and has allowed more than one goal in only three of 19 games.

“It’s one of the better ones,” Head said of his team’s chances to win Monday. “And Clinton is not as strong as they were last year. This is a good chance. You never know how the breaks will go if we make a mistake or they make a mistake. They’re always good and we’re always striving to beat Clinton because that’s our district. We want to win the district championship. We’ve been working all year for this game, and it’s a big one.”

WARREN CENTRAL AT CLINTON
Monday
Girls – 5:30 p.m.
Boys – 7 p.m.