Not long after the happy crowd filtered out of Viking Stadium last Friday night, the band had packed up its instruments, and the parade of postgame pictures had wrapped up, Warren Central’s football team put its huge win over then-No. 1 Clinton in the rearview mirror.

“It’s like it never happened,” Warren Central cornerback Shakee Shaw said moments after last week’s game. “We have to stay focused like it’s a loss and keep that chip on our shoulder.”

There was no other choice, really. There’s too much at stake this week to dwell on it.
The Vikings travel to face defending Class 6A champion Starkville this Friday night. It’s not quite a must-win game — the Vikings might only need to win one of their last two to at least make the playoffs — but it’s pretty close.

A win keeps Warren Central in control of the Region 2-6A championship race and clinches a playoff berth. A loss puts it in a true must-win scenario in the season finale, with a potential date at top-ranked Tupelo in the first round or missing the playoffs entirely the cost of failure.

That makes last week’s win a pleasant but distant memory as the second-ranked Vikings snapped back into focus for their latest challenge in the Region 2-6A gauntlet.

“We know our circumstances,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “They enjoyed last week’s game. But (Monday) it was imperative we understand that this is now the most important game of the year, because it is.”

Starkville (6-3, 3-2 Region 2-6A) rolled to the Class 6A championship in 2015 by winning 14 consecutive games — all but one of them by at least two touchdowns.

It’s been a sleeping giant this season, however. Early losses to Meridian and Northwest Rankin knocked it out of the Associated Press Class 6A poll and off most people’s radar as a contender. A 29-14 loss two weeks ago at Madison Central pushed it to the brink of elimination in the playoff race. One more loss likely will finish off its chances of defending its state title.

Morgan, however, said the Yellowjackets are still a top-notch team.

“They were starting a new quarterback the last three or four games. They have an outstanding offensive line and one of the top defenses in the state. They’re not that far away from it this year,” Morgan said. “The Northwest Rankin game was immediately after the quarterback switch, and the Madison game had a bunch of unconventional scores. They returned a punt for a touchdown and had a safety. They’re a very good football team, and they’re going to be scrapping for their lives.”

As if facing a desperate and skilled football team wasn’t enough, the Vikings have some issues of their own to deal with. Their top two running backs, Joe Shorter and Demarcus Jones, both suffered injuries in the win over Clinton.

Shorter hurt his leg on a kickoff return and will not play this week. Jones has a shoulder injury and Morgan called him “questionable.” The two backs have combined for 1,622 rushing yards and 27 total touchdowns this season.

Offensive lineman Trajan Winters is also injured and unlikely to play.
Jones played through his injury last week. He carried the ball a season-high 17 times for 138 yards and four touchdowns. If he can’t go against Starkville, it will fall to sophomore Lamar Gray and junior Josh Brandon to carry the workload.

Brandon has 13 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown in mostly mop-up duty this season. Gray, who missed the first part of the year with an injury, has only carried it twice.

“We have to get the next guy up,” Morgan said. “We don’t have any choice but to. It’s just that time of year. Everybody’s bumped and banged up.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES
All games start at 7 p.m.
Grenada at Vicksburg (Radio: 1490 AM/107.7 FM)
Warren Central at Starkville (Radio: 105.5 FM)
St. Aloysius at Heritage Academy (Radio: 101.3 FM)
Franklin Academy at Tallulah Academy
Sharkey-Issaquena at Briarfield Academy
Port Gibson at Hazlehurst
Madison Parish at Union Parish

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