It was a warm, humid night in September when DeMarcus Jones first made his presence felt.

Warren Central’s defense had forced archrival Vicksburg into a three-and-out, and Jones hustled onto the field as part of the punt team. Lining up at the left edge of the line, he burst toward the punter at the snap and smiled at what he saw — nothing but a clear path to the ball.

Jones blocked the kick as it came off Greg Hayden’s foot, but he wasn’t done. Jones chased it down, grabbed it just before it left the end zone and stuck his toes into the ground to score the first touchdown in what eventually became a 23-0 victory for the Vikings.

It was also the first of many highlight-reel plays for Jones, a player who has become a jack-of-all-trades for the Vikings and a crucial cog in their surge to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“He’s a game-changer,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “You get a different speed with him. He can score every time he gets the football. He’s also a tough, physical runner. Our coaches use him well and he responds every time he’s called on.”

Jones’ biggest contributions this season have come on special teams — he’s blocked four punts, returned one for a touchdown and scored on a kickoff return — but he’s done a little of everything in all three phases of the game.

Primarily a running back, Jones has rushed for 467 yards and five touchdowns and also caught eight passes for 111 yards. He’s also been used occasionally as a cornerback on defense.

At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Jones is a good athlete with the right body type to play a lot of different roles for the Vikings. He said the combination of natural ability and hard work combined to help him succeed.

“Practice makes perfect. I was just born with it and love to run. It’s just working hard and grinding. I’m a country boy,” Jones said with a smile.

Jones is Warren Central’s third-leading rusher and had a 48-yard touchdown run in last week’s 45-20 win over Tupelo in the first round of the playoffs. His most spectacular plays, however, have come in the kicking game.

Jones has blocked punts against Vicksburg, Murrah and Callaway, with each one leading to touchdowns in games the Vikings went on to win. Jones started on the punt block team during summer workouts and quickly showed an aptitude for the job.

Jones said it was as simple as trying to get the job done.

“Coaches put me on special teams, and I decided to go out and make a play for my team every down,” Jones said.

Whatever motivates him or is the root cause of Jones’ success, Morgan was glad to have it.

“DeMarcus’ number one attribute is his explosiveness. We use it everywhere. You’ve got to have a certain skill set to block punts and he has that. He’s an explosive athlete. He is a gamer. He has a high motor,” Morgan said. “You have players that have knacks for making plays, and he has that knack.”

Warren Central at Madison Central

Class 6A playoffs, 2nd round

Friday, 7 p.m.

Radio: 105.5 FM

Online: For live scoring updates on Friday night, visit Facebook.com/thevicksburgpost or Twitter.com/vicksburgpost