Warren Central High School parents Ray Henry, left, and Rusty Davis watch as Jerry Boland sprays white paint for a checker board effect in the end zone of the Viking Stadium field Wednesday in preparation for the Red Carpet Bowl. (Melanie Duncan ThortisThe Vicksburg Post)

[8/28/03]End zones at Warren Central’s Viking Stadium will have a different look this season, thanks to parents and paint.

“We’re doing this for the kids,” said Jerry Boland, whose daughter Ashley is a freshman at the school. “We’ll do whatever it takes to pull the school together.”

Boland, Ray Henry and Mike Weaver are painting a checkerboard pattern in the end zones, much like the University of Tennessee’s, but in the red and white colors of WCHS.

Henry is credited with coming up with the idea. “We thought it would be a good idea to do something different,” he said. “I thought about starting a campaign to make the end zone AstroTurf so the paint would stay there, but that was going to be too expensive and this was the next best thing.”

Using nearly 20 gallons of paint and a stencil made of two-by-fours, the end zones will feature four rows of 26 six-foot squares.

The idea is to boost school spirit among students, parents and others in the Warren Central family. Boland’s daughter is in the band; Henry’s son plays football for the Vikings, and Weaver’s daughter is a cheerleader. “This was just a good idea,” Weaver said. “And we think the kids will enjoy it.”

The parents are determined to have the painting completed by Friday when both Vicksburg High School and the Vikings will play Red Carpet Bowl games.

“That they’re doing it on their own is a great tribute to our parents, students, families and the community,” said Robert Morgan, head Viking coach who has been at the school for 37 years.

He said money for the Vikings’ new pants and cleats also came from fund-raisers.

Red Carpet Bowl games, now a Vicksburg tradition, began 40 years ago as a fund-raiser said Charlie McKinnie, chairman of the Red Carpet Bowl Committee. Funds are used now for schools and for scholarships. This year, the Gators meet the Southaven Chargers at 6 p.m., and the Vikings will take on the Gulfport Admirals at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $7 in advance and $8 at the gate, and the price includes both games and can be purchased at both high schools and junior high schools, the ticket office at the Athletic Department and at Michel’s Record Shop on Washington Street.

“The reason we have Vicksburg and Warren Central playing is to give the community a chance to come out and support both teams,” McKinnie said.