For the first time since 2005, the Warren Central Vikings are playoff bound.

Behind the running of bruising fullback John Gustavis and an opportunistic defense, the Vikings dispatched the Grenada Chargers 20-7 for homecoming Friday night at Viking Stadium.

Gustavis, who carried a season-high 16 times for 79 yards and a touchdown, was ecstatic with a win that locked up the No. 3 seed from Region 2-6A. The Vikings (6-5, 4-3) will head to Olive Branch for a first-round game next week.

“It’s invigorating,” Gustavis exclaimed. “It’s a big deal for us to get to the playoffs. We showed some Viking pride.”

WC senior linebacker Jericho Harris was in a more apologetic mood.

“First off, for me personally and for my whole team, I want to apologize to Vicksburg for our behavior at the end of the game. We have to take responsibility for our actions, but that is not the way our team is,” Harris said of last week’s near-brawl following the Vikings 13-7 double-overtime loss to the Gators. “As for tonight, I was proud how we went out and did our part.”

Viking coach Curtis Brewer was proud, too.

“We played with a lot more enthusiasm and it was important for us to play well and make the playoffs. It was a big goal of our seniors,” Brewer said.

Warren Central got two touchdowns within a 14-second span in the first quarter to grab a 14-0 lead. They opened the game with a 14-play, 71-yard drive that featured a trick play, power runs by Gustavis and a couple of Beau Wallace pass completions. The biggest was an 8-yard pass to DeArius Blanton that converted a fourth-and-4 from the Grenada 20.

Three plays later, Gustavis scored from the five. Devon Bell added the kick for a 7-0 lead with 5:07 left in the first quarter.

Grenada’s Rafiel Johnson then fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Tim Jones, who was held out of the opening series for disciplinary reasons, scored on a 17-yard TD run just seven seconds later. Bell made the kick for a 14-0 lead at the 4:53 mark.

Grenada (5-6, 3-4) had a chance to cut the lead in half with a long march that reached the Vikings’ 3. But on the second play of the second quarter, quarterback Channing Martin lost the ball and Harris recovered at Viking eight.

The Vikings came up with another stop at its 30 when Jones and Tyler Comans teamed up to stop Cedric Tillman on a fourth-and-one run on Grenada’s first possession of the second half.

A 52-yard run bu Jones, who finished with 121 yards on 13 carries, set up a 1-yard TD run by Austin Roberts with 4:10 left in the third quarter. Bell missed the kick to leave the score at 20-0.

A sack by Roberts, one of four the Vikings had, stopped another Charger chance early in the fourth quarter. Grenada did get a score with 59.5 seconds left when Martin fired a 17-yard TD pass to Tillman. Garrett Holland’s kick made it 20-7.

The Vikings held Grenada to just 51 yards rushing. Martin had to throw and he threw 25 times in the fourth quarter alone. He finished 21-of-36 for 199 yards.

“Our secondary played good against a quarterback who had a real quick release,” Brewer said.

“The fumble there in the second quarter kind of took the wind out of our sails and then Warren Central did what they do best and that’s run the ball at us,” Grenada coach Lamar Pitcock said.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com