[10/11/03]MADISON Warren Central’s shutout streak ended Friday night, but its winning streak continued.

Larry Warner rushed for 204 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, and Jason Williams led a tenacious defensive effort with three interceptions as the Vikings beat Madison Central 19-7.

“I told the kids at halftime that this was kind of a hump time for us … It didn’t for sure put us in the playoffs, but it puts us in a pretty good spot,” WC coach Robert Morgan said. “Most times you win three, you’re in the playoffs so we don’t have to worry about that. And to beat a team that was 2-0, there ain’t but two left now. That’s big stuff.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Warner put the Vikings on the board midway through the second. He took a handoff at the WC 11 with just under six minutes to play, and ran for what appeared to be about a 10-yard gain.

Just when he seemed to be bottled up, however, Warner exploded through the hole and outran the Madison defense for an 89-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Viking lead.

“The line was blocking well all night,” Warner said. “When I followed the fullback, they just pushed everybody down. I waited for them and bounced to the left side. My wide receiver gave a good block, and I just went on with it.”

Warren Central hadn’t allowed a point in nearly a month, and it looked like the streak would continue through the first half. A special teams miscue helped Madison break the Vikings’ streak, however.

The Vikings were forced to punt with about 1:30 to play in the second quarter, and Vaughn Mims slipped in the mud as he kicked the ball.

Madison took over at the WC 39-yard line, and on the next play Tim Buckley hit Jeremy Packer in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

“I’m running with him, and I thought I could see the ball dropping. I jumped, and I just jumped too early,” said Williams, who was covering Packer on the play. “I got beat. I’ll give it to him. Good man, good catch.”

Instead of rallying the Jaguars, the score seemed to light a fire under the WC defense.

The Vikings (5-2, 3-0 Region 2-5A) took the second-half kickoff and marched 74 yards in seven plays to take the lead for good, going ahead 14-7 on a 36-yard TD run by Williams, and added a 35-yard field goal by Will Clark with 2:01 to play in the quarter for a 17-7 lead.

The defense took over from there. WC registered two sacks and picked off four passes in the fourth quarter including three by Williams.

Four of Madison’s last five possessions ended in a turnover, and the other resulted in a safety when Jaguar quarterback Tim Buckley threw the ball out of the back of the end zone.

Buckley was attempting to throw the ball away to avoid a sack by Mims in the end zone, but was flagged for intentional grounding. The penalty gave the Vikings two points and a 19-7 lead with about six minutes to play in the game.

“I just think they cranked it up,” Madison (4-3, 3-1) coach Ted Taylor said of the Vikings’ defensive effort in the second half.