[10/31/01] Heading into Friday night, several words not usually associated with Warren Central football could be heard.

Not only were the Vikings on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, they also were in danger of gulp a losing season.

One day and a gripping win over rival Clinton has erased those thoughts. Now, making the playoffs, even hosting a first-round game, is a strong possibility.

“It looks good so far,” said junior linebacker Tyler DeRossette, the team’s leading tackler with 94 stops. “We have to win two more to get a home playoff game, but one more to be in the playoffs.”

With a win over Murrah and a Vicksburg win over Forest Hill Friday, the Vikings will be assured a playoff spot.

DeRossette and fellow linebacker Andrew Patten were responsible for 37 tackles in the Clinton win. The two have registered in double figures in almost every game. Patten has a pair of 19-tackle games and DeRossette has two 20-tackle games.

“It’s a hard position when it gets down to the nitty-gritty,” Patten said. “You have to be a tough guy to play it and I think Tyler and I are the two toughest to play around.”

That toughness has the Vikings back in the position to host a playoff game.

The latest win by the Vikings also puts more importance on the Nov. 9 crosstown Vicksburg-Warren Central matchup.

Should both teams win on Friday Warren Central hosts winless Murrah and No. 15 Vicksburg is at Forest Hill, which has lost three straight the annual grudge match will be for the right to host a first-round playoff game.

With one win in its last two games, Madison Central can lock up the top spot, leaving WC and VHS playing for the No. 2 spot. The top two teams in each region host first-round games while the third- and fourth-place teams have to travel.

“You go on the road, there are a lot of obstacles,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. “You have travel, have to play in a hostile stadium. There’s a lot more luck involved on the road.”

Coaches from both schools stressed the importance of not looking at Nov. 9 until after Friday.

“If we take care of our own, we don’t have to worry about anyone else,” Stevens said. “We have to have a good week of practice and we have to stay focused. It’s a mental game now; you’re not going to get any stronger this time of the season.”

In the North, second-ranked Starkville (8-1, 5-0 Region 1-5A) sits atop its region but must travel to South Panola on Friday, then host Columbus on Nov. 9. Columbus is second in the region with a 4-1 record, while South Panola and Tupelo are Nos. 3 and 4. The top two teams in that region will host the No. 3 and 4 teams in Region 2-5A, respectively.

“We have to beat Murrah, put that one in the bag and go from there,” said WC’s Josh Brogdon, one of many WC players who has been forced to play both offense and defense because of injuries. “This whole season has been a luck of the draw. All the close games we had, this one was big and we knew we had to come out with a W’.”

Both St. Aloysius and Porters Chapel Academy have been eliminated from playoff contention.