Thousands of leaflets with “Gator Bait” written on them were dropped on the practice field at Warren Central High School Wednesday, two days before the River City Classic, and the team and school officials were none too happy.

“At first you didn’t know what was going on, and then this paper starts coming out,” said WC Principal Rodney G. Smith, whose Vikings will face the Vicksburg High School Gators in the cross-town rivalry at 7 p.m. Friday at Viking Stadium. “It was a good prank. But, I don’t think the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) will be too thrilled about it.”

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the prank around 4 p.m., just after it happened, Sheriff Martin Pace said this morning.

Deputies checked with officials at Vicksburg Municipal Airport and the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport and were told the plane did not originate from either, he said.

“We have spoken with FAA officials this morning and turned over our report to them,” he said. “We will continue to work with them to identify the pilot.”

Any airspace violation charges would come from the FAA, Pace said.

“We are working with the Warren County Sheriff’s office,” said Kathleen Bergen of the FAA in Atlanta. “Our first order is to get an identification of the plane. From what we’ve been told, it was a Cessna-type aircraft of green and white color. We want to first find the aircraft and then we can find its owner.”

Vicksburg-Warren superintendant Dr. Elizabeth Swinford said this morning she was concerned over the potential danger.

“It scared the daylights out of our students,” Swinford said. “Usually, we get notified first when someone wants to do a flyover. But in this case, no one called us, and what was a big concern for me, was this plane came in way too low.”

Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens called the dumping “senseless and foolish.”

“No Gator fan would ever think of doing something like that,” Stevens said. “I knew nothing of it. Besides, we have no money.”

Viking sophomore defensive tackle Carl Sims, on the field with his teammates, wasn’t too amused either.

“I thought it was unsportsmanlike,” said Sims. “Stuff started coming out of the back of the plane. It went all over the place. Our game field, our practice field, our field house.”

Once the papers landed, “All the players, coaches and even some parents” joined in to clean up the confetti, Sims said. “We all picked it up.”

Warren Central girls soccer coach Trey Banks was coaching his team on the nearby soccer practice field when he saw the plane come in.

“It came over from Beechwood and it was coming in so low, that initially, we thought it might crash. It was only 100 to 200 feet off the ground. Then it straightened out and out of the back came two big boxes. The girls and I just stood there, in complete silence.”

WC assistant principal Buddy Wooten was nearby as the plane approached.

“I didn’t know what it was and then you see this plane and all this paper starts coming out,” Wooten said.

Viking senior quarterback Chase Ladd was there, too, and said the prank will serve as a motivational tool for WC, which has won just one game this season and has lost four straight to the Gators. The last WC win came in 2006 at Memorial Stadium.

“It’s going to make us play harder,” Ladd said. “We’re going to fight to the final whistle.”

Pace said local charges could be filed by WC officials that could include disturbing the peace and littering, both misdemeanor offenses.

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Reporter Pamela Hitchins contributed to this story