In the words of ESPN, it was an instant classic. Actually, make that two instant classics.

Warren Central’s girls took a 1-0 decision over Vicksburg at Viking Stadium as Taylor Hanes scored with under two minutes remaining, snapping a long streak of futilty against the Missy Gators.

The Vicksburg boys won in penalty kicks, 1-0.

Ten out of the last 13 meetings in the rivalry were decided by one goal and Friday’s match was no different.

The Lady Vikes (6-5-1, 2-0 in Division 4-5A) faced the frustration of outshooting the Missy Gators 20-3, yet they just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Vicksburg goalkeeper Robin Cooper had 19 saves, but it wasn’t until the clock started to tick down that the Lady Vikes could get anything going.

Vicksburg’s strategy of keeping extra defenders hanging back in their half of the field and trying to counter attack with Raven London and Tabitha Hayden up top played a huge role in WC’s offensive struggles.

But with time ticking down. Lindsey Barfield finally got loose on a breakaway and crossed a perfect pass to Hanes to send the WC sideline into jubilation.

“In the first half, you could see the frustration because we were playing on their half,” first-year WC coach Trey Banks said. “It was frustrating our girls that they had so many people back. We couldn’t break through. But what a way to end it. My girls played hard and put everything into that game. It feels like a weight has been taken off our shoulders, because I don’t know how long it been since we’ve beaten Vicksburg.”

The game was even more emotional as junior captain Mallory Reynolds, who is moving to Texas, played in her final home match at Warren Central.

“Before the game, I didn’t think about it,” Reynolds said. “I was focused on the goal of helping my team win against Vicksburg. When Taylor scored, I just had a few seconds left and it hit me. It’s a hard thing to do, but I know that they’ll keep up with it and make me proud.”

All isn’t lost for Vicksburg (3-8, 0-2), which played its best game of the season and got a welcome boost of momentum going into today’s game against division foe Greenville-Weston and Christmas break.

The two teams meet in the rematch on Jan. 11 at Vicksburg in the rematch. With Raven Lawrence likely to return to the lineup, the Missy Gators like their chances moving forward.

“They had nothing to hang their heads about,” Vicksburg coach Kori Babb said of her team. “They gave 110 percent, they made few mistakes and they played better tonight than I’ve seen them play all season. I’m very proud of them. I couldn’t asked for a better effort. You don’t like to lose, but I believe this turned our season around.”

(B) Vicksburg 1, WC 0

The nightcap was not lacking in drama, either.

The Gators matched penalty kicks with the Vikings after 40 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime wasn’t enough to settle their annual grudge match. On the fifth shots, Taylor Brocato got a stop on a shot by Erik Chappell and junior Kyle Davidson’s final boot past WC keeper Jamal Brinnon gave Vicksburg a marathon 1-0 victory.

“It takes a team effort to win and we brought everything we had and so did they,” Brocato said. “I was nervous. I had trust in my team to make all five of them (PKs) and I knew I only had to block one.”

Vicksburg coach Jason Bennett, whose team was on the wrong end of a PK shootout last season, was glad that his team put together their best effort at the perfect time.

“Last year, I think I aged 20 years when we lost in PKs, but this time, I only aged 10 years,” Bennett said. “We’re not a goal-scoring team, so we have to scrap and get with it. We practice our PKs every day and I guess practice makes perfect.”

The Gators (5-7-1, 1-1) play Greenville-Weston today and have a chance with another victory to get a leg up on their archrivals for second place in the division behind Clinton.

Warren Central (11-2, 1-1) was left picking up the pieces after struggling offensively for one of the few times this season.

“We knew Vicksburg had a good team and they weren’t playing up to their potential,” WC coach Greg Head said. “We tried to warn our guys ahead of time, they’d be up for us. We didn’t play as good as we have been playing. We couldn’t make simple passes, we weren’t pressuring the ball like we usually do. It’s disappointing, but we didn’t lose the game in regular time, but in a shootout, and that can go either way.”