Warren Central turned defense into offense, and into another impressive victory, Friday night against Callaway.

DeArius Christmas returned an interception 18 yards for a touchdown, and the Vikings converted four of their six takeaways into 20 points on the way to a 34-6 throttling of Callaway.

Jeremy Judge had two interceptions for Warren Central (2-0). Jesse Wilson also had a pick, while Byron Galvin and Jeremy Lewis had fumble recoveries.

“It took us a while to get going. We preached on it after week one that we needed to get back to forcing turnovers, and we did that tonight and it got us going,” said WC coach Josh Morgan, whose team only forced one turnover in a 38-6 win over Terry last week.

Alex Stevens threw three touchdown passes, including a pair of long ones in the first half that helped the Vikings gain separation in a close game.

Stevens hooked up with Chris Stamps for a 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Miraculous Powers on a 65-yard strike in the second.

Stevens added a 12-yard TD on a screen pass to Lewis early in the third quarter to give Warren Central a 21-0 lead.

“Alex Stevens did a wonderful job,” Morgan said. “He threw some balls away when the plays weren’t there and made some great throws that led to big plays.”

Christmas’ interception return — a zig-zagging run on which he plowed over a would-be tackler at the goal line — made it 28-0, and Nick Wright added a pair of field goals from 23 and 38 yards in the fourth quarter to complete the rout.

Callaway’s only touchdown came following a long fumble return late in the fourth quarter.

Callaway defensive lineman Quashun Coleman picked up a fumbled snap and seemed headed for the end zone, until WC’s Evan Mobley chased him down inside the 10-yard line.

The turnover set up the Chargers (0-2) with a short field and they scored shortly thereafter.

Warren Central 34, Callaway 6

Records: Warren Central (2-0); Callaway (0-2)

Up next: WC at Vicksburg, Friday, 7 p.m.

The skinny: Vikings’ defense forces six turnovers, Stevens tosses 3 TD passes in win