As lopsided losses go, this one was pretty easy for Warren Central to handle.

Sam Williams scored two first-half goals, and Northwest Rankin outshot WC 18-3 to cruise to a 3-0 victory in the regular-season finale at Viking Stadium on Friday.

In an attempt to rest his bruised and battered team for the playoffs, WC coach Greg Head limited the playing time for most of his starters. Four regulars began the game on the bench, and by the end seven were there. Only defenders Jared Thames, Austin Hopkins and Josh Myers, along with goal keeper Jamal Brinnon, played the whole game. Because of the gameplan, Head said he knew it would be a tough night.

“We did a good job for what we had. We can’t be hurt going to Tupelo. We need every single player up there,” Head said. WC opens the playoffs on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Tupelo. “The three (starters) that were in did a great job. They’re the main ones that kept the score to 3-0.”

Brinnon also had a hand in it, making 10 saves despite being peppered for most of the game. Northwest Rankin (13-4-5), the Division 3-5A champion, had nine shots on goal in each half as the Vikings (8-8-1) tried to simply limit their quality scoring chances. The Cougars still managed to get a few, and made the most of them.

Just eight minutes into the game, Williams knocked in a throw-in from Wil Ballew for the game’s first goal. Williams struck again in the 20th minute, turning on a ball at the 30-yard line and launching a missile that beat Brinnon high to the right side to make it 2-0.

Sophomore Elliott Pettus scored Northwest’s last goal, seven minutes into the second half. Northwest continued to take shots after that, but for the most part WC’s strategy of keeping them outside the goal box worked.

“We just didn’t want them to run the score up. We played a prevent defense in the second half,” Head said.

(G) NW Rankin 2, WC 0

Camille Dumas assisted on a goal midway through the first half, then scored one of her own 10 minutes into the second as Northwest Rankin (11-5-2) topped WC (7-8-3).

The Lady Vikes will open the playoffs Tuesday at Tupelo.

(G) VHS 7, Forest Hill 0

Seven different players scored for Vicksburg High in a rout of Forest Hill in the regular season finale. 

Tabitha Hayden, Becky Wilson, Kathy Allen, Amelia Hyde, Amber Dissoe-Lynn and Carley East all had goals, and Diari Gilliam had a goal and an assist for VHS (13-8), which opens the Class 4A playoffs on Monday at 5 p.m. at Center Hill.

Melanie McCaskill, Summer Stanton and Kayla Riggs all had assists for the Missy Gators.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com