Vikings go to the air

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 25, 2009

You don’t have to convince 300-pound John Gustavis that good things may be in store for Warren Central this season.

The Vikings gave a stout Gulfport club, featuring 29 seniors and led by one of the state’s best coaches, Mike Justice, all they could handle in last Friday’s 47th annual Red Carpet Bowl at Viking Stadium. Gulfport left with a 35-21 win, but the Vikings had rallied from a 28-7 deficit to within a single score at 28-21 and had the ball with 4:29 left in the game.

“I think we showed we have a pretty good football team,” said the senior, who is a big anchor for the Vikings this season. Not only does Gustavis hold down a spot at defensive tackle, he also serves as a battering ram fullback on offense.

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“We can do better than what we’ve done in the past. Once we get in better conditioning, we can do it,” Gustavis said.

The Vikings hope to improve on a four-win season in 2008.

What they showed against Gulfport was an offense that can finally stretch the field with the pass. Junior quarterback Beau Wallace made his debut and displayed a strong arm. His 30-yard completion to Lebarron Lee was a rope that will have opposing secondaries respecting his arm strength.

Wallace was also able to spread the wealth. Six different receivers caught a pass as Wallace finished 12-for-27 passing for 155 yards. Patrick Taylor was on the receiving end for five of the passes for 46 yards. Lee had two catches for 44 yards, including a touchdown while running back Tim Jones had two grabs for 31 yards.

Jones also had 65 yards rushing and two scores. The kicking game, a WC staple, was solid again with placekicker Devon Bell going 3-for-3 on PAT kicks.

The defense, after getting scorched for 251 yards and four scores in the first half, played much better in the second, holding the Admirals to just a late touchdown after a fake punt failed from WC’s own 20-yard line.

“Warren Central has a really good football team.” Justice said. “We had to fight our way out of here to get a win. But that’s why we wanted to come up here and play in this game.”

Perhaps the big issue the Vikings will need to address is conditioning. When featured running back Shon Jackson left the game at halftime because of a strained knee, Jones had to take over Jackson’s load at running back while also maintaining his role as one of their safeties on defense.

Even Wallace, the quarterback, got pressed into a safety role for a couple of series in the second half.

The Vikings will have another tough test Friday when Lawrence County, a No. 2 ranked team in Class 4A, visits Viking Stadium.