Wesley Mounger took the shotgun snap tantalizingly close to the Warren Central end zone.

The Clinton standout, who has accounted for more than 1,500 yards of total offense this season, bounced to the right, took a hit, spun off, took another and stretched as far as he could toward the goalline.

Then seemingly every Warren Central defender, from the past to this year’s season which has been anything but filled with glory, got a hand on the fleet-footed quarterback. When he finally hit the soggy Viking Stadium turf, all of the pain the Vikings have felt after starting 3-5 evaporated in the mist of cold breath.

The most unlikely victory was complete.

WC 17, No. 3 Clinton 16 in overtime.

Amazing.

&#8220We were not going to lose this game,” said Warren Central nose tackle R.W. Comans, the Vikings’ most vocal defender. &#8220We all figured that (Mounger) would take the last play. We focused on him, he tried to run and we went after him like a pancake.”

In a stadium that has seen so many memorable victories, from the glory of the 1970s through the state championship team of 1994, few will be remembered as well as this one.

It brought tears to players’ eyes, fans’ eyes and even the old grizzled head coach Curtis Brewer was brought to tears.

&#8220This is the one we’ve been waiting on all year,” said Brewer, choking back his emotion. &#8220Best coaching staff in the state of Mississippi. Our coaches did everything they could do to put these young men in a position to win.

&#8220But ultimately, our young men stepped up, pulled things together and pulled out a win. We have had some great ones here, but this one will be remembered.”

Sophomore running back Joel Forbes continued his meteoric rise as the Vikings’ feature back with 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 30 carries. The first score, a 43-yard blast through the middle, gave Warren Central a 7-3 fourth-quarter lead with 8 minutes, 8 seconds to play.

&#8220I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Forbes said. &#8220The offensive line opened a nice hole for me.”

Warren Central stymied Clinton on its next possession forcing a fourth-and-9 at the WC 32. Mounger, also the Arrows’ punter, took a snap and dashed to the right, getting tackled nearly five yards shy of the first down.

&#8220He said he fumbled the snap and couldn’t get the kick off,” Clinton coach Scott Brown said of the fake punt, which was not a called play.

WC added a 47-yard field goal by Mississippi State commitment Eric Richards to take a 10-3 lead with 3:04 left.

But Mounger, who led all Clinton runners with 108 yards on 20 carries, drove the Arrows 80 yards in 8 plays. The drive was capped by a 1-yard TD plunge by Amonte Harper. Joe Cole’s kick tied the game at 10.

Harper, who entered the game with nearly 1,100 yards rushing, was held to 67 yards on 20 carries.

Forbes scored his second touchdown on WC’s first overtime possession. On third-and-5, he took a pitch around end for the score and Richards’ kick gave WC a 17-10 lead. Clinton was hit with a roughing the kicker call so instead of having four plays to score from the WC 10, the Arrows were backed up to the 25 with only four plays to score.

Clinton got to the WC 19 and faced a fourth-and-19 when Mounger heaved a desperation toss into the end zone. It was tipped by a WC player into the arms of Steve Pickens to pull Clinton to 17-16 and setting up the two-point conversion attempt.

&#8220We felt like we had a better chance at getting the two points than lining up for another session of overtime,” Brown said of the final decision.

Clinton can still win Region 2-5A outright with two more wins, while Warren Central made another step at extending the state’s longest consecutive playoff streak to 22 years in a row.

If the Vikings defeat Provine on Friday night, they are in the Class 5A state playoffs. A loss to Provine and the Vikings are out.

&#8220We’ve been fighting all year, even though a lot of people have been putting us down,” WC’s Sean Elliott said. &#8220We showed them tonight that we are still in it. Warren Central is not dead yet.”