Following Friday’s dramatic 16-9 win over nemesis Starkville, Warren Central players relished a shot at playing rival Clinton again.

The Arrows started the Vikings’ three-game losing streak leading up to the Starkville game.

Thanks to a goal-line stand, the anticipated matchup against Clinton will not be a reality.

Southaven, the No. 4 seed in Region 1-5A, stopped Clinton’s Mike Cashion on a quarterback sneak to preserve the win for the Chargers.

“We’re just happy to be home,” Warren Central coach Robert Morgan said.

Warren Central will host Southaven on Friday night, but may have to travel if it wins.

If Warren Central wins, it will travel to South Panola, if South Panola beats Horn Lake on Friday.

If Horn Lake beats South Panola, and Warren Central wins, the Vikings would host the North State championship against Horn Lake the day after Thanksgving.

In the second and third rounds of the playoffs, sites are first decided by the amount of home games each team has had. With both South Panola and WC having one home game, a North State championship game would be hosted by Panola because of the second criteria: the highest seeded team. Panola, the state’s No. 1 ranked team, is the No. 1 seed in Region 1-5A, while WC is No. 3 in Region 2-5A.

If Horn Lake wins, it would have to travel to Warren Central because both teams would have hosted one game.

Since both are No. 3 seeds, a third tie-breaker would be used. The higher number of the region WC is 2-5A compared to Horn Lake’s 1-5A would decide the home game.

In the south, Gulfport will play at Wayne County, while Brandon will host Oak Grove.

The state championship is scheduled for Dec. 6 at 7:15 p.m. at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson.