Ask any Warren Central player about the four-game losing streak to archrival Vicksburg and you get the same answer.

It’s just a number.

But how does that number impact the mental state of a team that has endured a very inconsistent season? It’s been a point of motivation for WC’s small senior class, which has yet to enjoy a win over its archrival.

“All of these seniors haven’t beaten them in varsity and that’s something we’ve talked about a lot,” WC senior safety Bill McRight said. “It’s a goal for us.”

Not much, if you ask Josh Morgan, who is in his second year as Warren Central’s head coach. Warren Central hosts Vicksburg tonight in the newly-named River City Classic.

“Preparation is key here,” Morgan said. “It’s a new year and a new team. We’re going to get our kids ready to play. It’s the biggest game of the year for both of these teams.”

Once, it was Vicksburg that struggled to make plays. It was Vicksburg that waited for adversity to strike and an air of inevitability to descend like a fog.

Now the rivalry has come full circle.

In last year’s game, the Vikings dominated the first half defensively, stopping the Gators’ potent offense on three straight possessions. Beau Wallace scored on a quarterback keeper and WC took a 12-6 lead. But down the stretch, the Gators came up with big plays on both sides of the ball and took a 22-12 victory.

The key problem for WC is another number, 19. That is the total amount of points scored in the four losses to Vicksburg. WC’s offense this season has been plagued by inconsistent play and no component can be singled out for blame. One game, the rushing attack breaks through and the passing game stalls. Another, the passing game heats up, but the run game is stymied. On deep routes, catches are made on some nights and big drops happen on others.

The whys have bedeviled offensive coordinator Rob Morgan.

“Consistency has been our problem all year,” Rob Morgan said. “Every game, we’ve done some things OK on offense. We’ll break a big run or have a good pass play, but then we’ll have a busted assignment on the exact same play where we gained 25 yards early in the game. If we could ever get where we could take that to heart, being consistent, we could be a good offensive team.”

The good news is that Vicksburg’s defense has struggled to keep opponents in check and prevent the big play. In only one game, a 37-14 win over Lawrence County, has the Gator defense held its opponent under 21 points.

WC will need its best offensive performance yet to keep pace with a Vicksburg offense that has averaged 28.3 points per game.

The Vikings are young up front, starting three sophomores and one junior. While the line has shown flashes of excellence at times, a consistent pass rush with the front four and maintaining gap discipline against elusive running back Darius Youngblood will be key for WC’s hopes. If the Vikings can apply a healthy dollop of pressure to quarterback Cameron Cooksey with the front four, they can avoid having to blitz continually and expose their secondary to one-on-one matchups down the field with the dangerous Vicksburg trio of A.J. Stamps, Lamar Anthony and Clyde Kendrick.

“You can’t sit back and let him pick you apart, but yet, you can’t blitz him and let him throw it up against single coverage,” Josh Morgan said. “We’re going to move some people around to try to give our defense a chance to pressure the quarterback, yet give ourselves the ability to cover their receivers. It’s going to be a fun game. Not only do they throw it just around, they throw it around and are very successful.”

The rewards for winning will be big. The Vikings would still be alive for a playoff berth, needing another win and two losses by Clinton to earn a playoff berth for the first time in two seasons.

But there’s something more tangible at stake.

Besides the name change, the two teams will contend for a traveling trophy, an idea that Josh Morgan enjoys. The winning school will get the trophy for a year and it’s a prize the Vikings would love to keep at their school.

“Trophies are fun for the kids, gives them something to play for,” Josh Morgan said. “A lot of pride will be contained in that trophy and I think it’ll add to a great rivalry here. It would mean a lot. It’s a great chance for us to get something positive going.”