The preliminaries are over for Warren Central. The Vikings’ first two games, against Gentry and Grenada, were merely warmups for the grueling test that lies ahead.

In the next five weeks, WC (2-0) will face three ranked teams and another that just dropped out of the poll in the next five weeks. Three more tough games await later in the season with Clinton, Provine and Vicksburg.

And it all begins tonight, when the Vikings travel to Magnolia to face the best Class 3A team in the state, top-ranked South Pike (2-0).

“It’s a part of that, but this is still part of the non-district run,” WC coach Curtis Brewer said of the Vikings’ brutal schedule. “You’ve still got to do the same things in non-district that you do to get ready for district play. You’ve got to check the iron and the steel of every player and give everybody a chance to play.”

Over the years, South Pike has given the Vikings’ coaching staff ample opportunity to do just that. The Eagles have won three of the last four meetings between the teams, including a 24-22 thriller last year.

Brewer said the status of the two teams as perennial state championship contenders, as well as the familiarity of the two coaching staffs, have brought out the best in both teams and created a solid rivalry.

“We’re separated by distance, but we’ve always had a good working relationship with their coaching staff. The better you know somebody, the more it challenges you to be at your best,” Brewer said.

And WC will have to be at its best this week – something it hasn’t exactly been so far this season.

In last week’s 22-11 win at Grenada, WC managed 136 yards of total offense. That was just 28 more than they lost on the 11 penalties they were flagged for.

“Every team messes up. Last week, we messed up,” WC quarterback Ryan Williams said. “We’re more focused this week, more prepared, I believe. We’ll be better this week.”

WC’s outstanding safety Chico Hunter injured his knee in the Grenada win and his status for tonight’s game is up in the air.

If Hunter cannot play, the Vikings will need a dominating team defensive effort.

South Pike finished 11-2 last season in Class 4A, have held onto the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A this season with wins over McComb and Noxubee County, and enjoyed their share of success against WC over the years.

Since 1999, South Pike has posted two wins of 20 or more points over the Vikings, as well as an 8-0 shutout in 2001.

Two other games, in 2000 and 2004, have been decided by two points.

“When you look back at last season, it was one of the better games because it was a tension-filled game for three quarters,” Brewer said of the 2004 contest, which was decided when South Pike’s Sam Reed returned a punt 42 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 1:26 to play. “They always play good defense, to where they’re going to be in the ballgame and one or two plays is going to decide it. That’s the way it’s going to be this week.”