Mention the names of a handful of Mississippi high school football teams and automatically they are held in high esteem.

South Panola and Weir are a couple. Then there is Clarksdale, with a pedigree as rich as any in the state.

The Wildcats will play Warren Central in the first half of Friday’s Red Carpet Bowl at Vicksburg Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

Clarksdale had a successful first RCB, beating Vicksburg 27-18 in last year’s classic at Warren Central. The Wildcats’ most talented runner, Charles Mitchell, has graduated leaving Clarksdale with a fairly young team.

Warren Central, meanwhile, played South Panola tight for 3 1/2 quarters in last year’s RCB before eventually falling by 13 points, 31-18.

The Vikings will ride the legs of standout running back Joel Forbes, who has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards in a little over two seasons as a starter. The bruising running back has bulked up to 215 pounds and is a force for any defense to handle.

An experienced offensive line and returning starting quarterback should also help WC, which struggled last year to find a consistent offense, but still nearly made the Class 5A state playoffs.

Keaton Sanders threw for 627 yards last season and the Vikings relied heavily on a talented Panola. They kept it tight for a half, trailing just 14-0. Then they made a few mistakes, gave Panola good field position, and almost before the Gators could blink they were watching the Tigers finish off a 41-7 victory.

“It was a real intense game. They kicked it into gear late in the third quarter,” said Lemons who, along with Cooksey, made the trip for that 2005 game as freshmen. Both dressed out, but neither played.

In a lot of ways, it was a classic South Panola win. Several times in their run, the Tigers have trailed or been in a tight game after a half or even three quarters. Each and every time, however, they seem to find another gear their opponents just don’t have.

Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said that came from the even-keel approach Panola always seems to take. Whether the score is 0-0 or 50-0, the Tigers don’t stop coming at opponents until they’ve added another mark in the win column.

It’s an approach his players need to emulate, Stevens said.

“Mistakes are magnified because they’re champions,” Stevens said. We’ve got to not get too high up if something good happens or too low if something bad happens. They’ve got to focus and not let their emotions take them down a peg.”

There’s a fine line between respecting an opponent like Panola and being intimidated by them, and the Gators are doing their best to straddle that line.

“You respect them, but they put their pads on just like we do. You have to play your game and execute the gameplan like you have any other one,” Cooksey said. “There really ain’t any pressure on us. They’re the ones with the 75-game winning streak.”