March 8, 2007

A letter arrived at this office Tuesday marked &#8220Vicksburg Evening Post.” No matter that this newspaper hasn’t been the Evening Post in years, many in the community still refer to it that way.

Routinely college media guides will arrive addressed to Calvin Stevens, sports editor, or Dennis Seid, sports editor. It doesn’t seem to matter that they haven’t been here in years.

Thing is, people don’t care to change much. Once they get comfortable with something, they hang on to it.

Baseball followers around here have gotten used to Warren Central’s baseball team competing for division championships. The Vikings have been a mainstay in the playoffs since the resurgence began in 1997.

Ten years later, though, the talent-rich Vikings are entering an uncomfortable stretch. A couple lean years and the graduation of the bulk of last year’s talent has WC struggling to stay competitive in the tough Division 3-5A.

WC has been in almost every game this season, watching would-be wins slip through its fingers with one or two bad innings. Compound the lean talent with a brutal schedule – few want to schedule WC because of its recent trend of outstanding baseball – and the Vikings are entering uncharted waters.

This season is hard to take for the Viking Nation. People don’t like change, they don’t like to get out of their routine.

Warren Central is certainly not eliminated from the postseason yet, but Madison Central’s 11-0 victory over Vicksburg High on Tuesday clearly put the Jags in the driver’s seat for the division championship.

Vicksburg and Warren Central play each other three times starting on March 20. The top two teams in the four-team division will reach the playoffs.

Through the close losses, coach Randy Broome is staying positive. Broome has helped guide the Vikings’ success ever since Sam Temple arrived in 1997. He is not used to losing.

He sees a wealth of talent in the younger age groups and knows the swoon of 2007 will not last forever. Warren Central has built itself into one of the most respected programs in the state, and will be again.

Many dislike change, and losing at WC is a change from the norm. It may take a year or two, but the Vikings will be back to where we have grown accustomed to having them – battling for championships.