For a brief moment, Tupelo came within a touchdown of tying Warren Central early in the second quarter. Jaquerrius Williams fumbled the ball in the end zone and it was recovered by Jarvis Smithey for the Golden Wave’s first score.

From there, Warren Central put its foot on the gas to win 45-20 in the first round of the Class 6A north state playoffs.

“We focused on coming out fast and getting a great first quarter. I’m very pleased with the way our guys came out in the first half. It was really how we needed it to be,” Vikings coach Josh Morgan said.

Warren Central won in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, in its first home playoff game since 2004, and afterward got another piece of good news. Defending Class 6A champion South Panola, which had been undefeated, was upset by Madison Central 14-8 on Friday night.

That means Warren Central will have a short trip to Madison to face the Jaguars — a team it beat in the regular season — in round two, rather than a long bus ride to play the perennial titan of Mississippi high school football.

The wins by Warren Central and Madison Central were part of an impressive effort by Region 2-6A on Friday night. They, along with Starkville and Clinton, all won to give 2-6A a clean sweep in the first round.

Starkville beat Olive Branch 46-24, while Clinton beat Columbus 56-42. Starkville and Clinton will meet in the second round next Friday in Clinton.

The Vikings capitalized on two defensive plays early in the first quarter as Byron Galvin caught an interception after the ball deflected off the intended receiver and Kamren Ellis recovered a fumble.

The defense put constant pressure on Tupelo with quarterback Daniel Bristow being sacked four times. Ellis, Jeremy Lewis, Caleb Boyett and Talaferro Bass each had one sack.

Morgan said he didn’t want Tupelo to get its passing game flowing and played loose with their ends to get up the field and get pressure on Bristow.

“I thought our defense did a good job of slowing them down and containing them and taking away the big play. Creating some turnovers early on was really good for us and our offense just did a wonderful job,” Morgan said.

Warren Central rushed for 339 yards, with three touchdown runs of more than 45 yards. DeMarcus Jones carried it for 48, D.J. Knight ran it home for a 60-yarder and quarterback Jesse Wilson engaged in a 70-yard footrace to the end zone.

Wilson also found Miraculous Powers from 33 yards away in the end zone and finished the game 4-of-11 passing for 44 yards, with 148 rushing yards added to his stat line.

“He’s been a competitor for us all year long and finding ways to win,” Morgan said of Wilson. “Our offensive bunch was just really sharp tonight and can’t say enough about them. A lot of that credit goes to the offensive line.”

By halftime, Warren Central held a 31-7 lead but Morgan told his players to remain focused, as they were about to get the Golden Wave’s comeback bid. Tupelo scored 13 points and fumbled the snap on a PAT.

Trent Hammond was proud of his team for their resiliency and not giving up against one of the best tackling teams he’s seen all year.

“Warren Central’s a heck of a football team and we knew that coming down. You can’t spot them those kinds of points and I thought we battled to get ourselves back in it. They were that heavyweight champ where you swing, they swing back,” Hammond said.

Tupelo’s early turnovers were inside its own 30-yard line. Hammond said the difference between the first and second half was ball security.

“I thought we were overplaying some stuff and allowing the quarterback to break the run and he’s a tremendous player,” Hammond said. “I thought we slowed played and got ourselves in position in the second (half).”

UP NEXT

MHSAA Class 6A playoffs, second round

Warren Central at Madison Central

Friday, 7 p.m.

Radio: 105.5 FM