WC struggles don’t sit well

Published 12:06 pm Wednesday, November 10, 2010

GRENADA — It will be a long off-season for Warren Central’s first-year coach Josh Morgan.

The Vikings wrapped up one of the most disappointing seasons in a generation with Friday’s 15-10 loss at Grenada. Warren Central finished 2-9 and 1-6 in Region 2-6A play, putting it in a tie for last place with Murrah, which won one game this season.

WC’s lone region win came at Murrah, 14-13.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

The end result does not sit well with the younger Morgan, who grew up in the Warren Central program as his dad, Robert, led the Vikings to a pair of state titles in 1988 and 1994.

Following the Grenada loss, Morgan knows two areas he must address when the Viking underclassmen met for the first time in the off-season.

“The two things that stick out that we must address is toughness and spirit,” Morgan said. “We were just not physical enough. We lacked toughness. We also lacked a certain spirit at times — a lack of desire. From now until we start spring practice, we’re going to look at everything.”

The bad news for the Vikings is that they will lose their two biggest playmakers, senior quarterback Beau Wallace and wide receiver Malcolm Grant.

Grant came just two receptions from tying the Warren Central single-season receiving record of 43 catches held by Cordell Valentine, who just finished his sophomore season at Hinds Community College.

Grant had four catches for 142 yards and one score against Grenada and finished the season with 40 catches for 766 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Grant might have gotten the record, but tight coverage from Grenada’s Cedric Tillman didn’t allow it.

“That No. 4 (Tillman) played some pretty good coverage,” Grant said. “He stuck with me.”

Grant’s last big moment in a Viking uniform came with three minutes left, when he broke out from a screen pass for a 65-yard touchdown that made it 15-10.

“We ran a little pop screen,” Grant said. “It took a while to get some going.”

The touchdown was Wallace’s sixth of the season. He finished with 1,223 yards passing, the highest single-season total in six years.

That is a problem considering Warren Central is known for its strong running game. Against Grenada, the Vikings had anemic 50 yards on 24 carries. A lot of that was due to playing without fullback Austin Roberts, who was out with a high ankle sprain.

Injuries plagued the Warren Central running game all season. Shon Jackson went down with a second knee injury in mid-season. The lack of a consistent running game is another area that Morgan must address. Even the pass-happy catching Grant, thinks so.

“We need to be a more balanced offense,” Grant said. “I think our defense has a chance to be real good next year. We just need more balanced on offense.”

Morgan says the offensive issues will be addressed.

“We’re going to need to sit and take this one in,” Morgan said. “It’s been a disappointing season, to say the least. It seemed like we had missed opportunities all season. Tonight, we had two golden chances to start the game and instead turned it over twice in the red zone. That stuff has been contagious to us this year. We’ve got a lot to address.”