Warren Central’s Demarcus Jones shed his usual No. 5 jersey last Friday for No. 7, swapping with injured teammate Joe Shorter on senior night.

It was a nice tribute, but also fitting. Jones often does the work of three or four players, so it made sense that he’d eventually assume someone else’s on-field identity.

Jones has barely left the field in the past three games. He starts at cornerback and plays on the kickoff return and punt teams. He used to get a break as a part-time offensive player, but with Shorter — the

Vikings’ top running back — sidelined by an ankle injury, even that has gone away.
Jones has filled in as the starting running back and posted two 100-yard games and scored seven touchdowns the past three weeks.

“He’s had that in him. The more we ask him to do, the more he delivers. He is that type of a player, and that type of a game changer, and he has answered that bell every time we’ve called on him,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said.

Jones is accustomed to filling a lot of roles in the Vikings’ lineup. Last season he also played on offense, defense and special teams. He blocked three punts and rushed for 508 yards and five touchdowns.

This season, Jones was more of a defensive player. He is second on the team with three interceptions, and was selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell Mississippi All-Star Game as a defensive back. He still played running back, but was more of a complementary back to Shorter.

While Shorter got the bulk of the carries, Jones was the home run hitter. Jones scored seven touchdowns and averaged 15.2 yards per carry through the first eight games this season.

“I’ve been focused on defense this year. I haven’t really been focused on offense. So when I got my chance on offense I tried to contribute for my team,” Jones said.

He got a much bigger chance Oct. 21 against Clinton, after Shorter sprained his ankle on a kickoff return. Jones was called upon to fill another role and responded by running for 138 yards and four touchdowns on a season-high 17 carries.

He had 127 total yards and two touchdowns the following week against Starkville, and 185 rushing yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 24-6 win over Callaway.

One of Jones’ touchdowns against Callaway was an 85-yarder in the first quarter that showcased his breakaway speed. Jones got into the secondary and pulled away down the middle of the field like a Ferrari being chased by a 4-cylinder beater.

“I was just thinking ‘Score, score, score.’ That’s all that went through my head. I didn’t care who was behind me. They were fixing to get left,” Jones said.

Jones’ speed is his biggest asset, but he’s also shown a tough streak the past few weeks.
Against Clinton, he played through a shoulder injury that clearly bothered him throughout the game. His first touchdown against Callaway was a 3-yard run between the tackles on which he had to fight his way into the end zone.

In his three games as the starting running back, Jones has 43 carries — four more than he had in the first eight games combined. He’s also caught seven passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in that recent stretch.

“We knew with him and Joe that we had to be careful with them. We had to keep them ready for the long haul,” Morgan said of Jones’ light workload on offense early in the season. “But this time of the year, whatever we need him to do we’re going to need him to carry more of a load and he’s been willing and done an outstanding job. It’s good to see.”

Shorter is expected to be back in the lineup for Warren Central’s (9-2) first-round playoff game at South Panola (7-5) on Friday night. How much Shorter and Jones split the workload remains to be seen, but if Shorter is completely healthy it will likely return to more of the 80-20 split they had during the first half of the season.

If they need him, though, Morgan has no doubt that Jones will step up and do whatever is needed, just like he always does.

“Tough, explosive, and that kind of combination is pretty tough to find,” Morgan said after the Callaway game. “I was really proud of him, and more so his attitude and willingness to understand that it’s go time. He has turned it to another level. We need to see more guys doing that to make a run.”

WARREN CENTRAL AT SOUTH PANOLA
MHSAA Class 6A playoffs, first round

Friday, 7 p.m.

Radio: 105.5 FM

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