It’s rare in this business that you get to cover a state championship game. It’s even rarer when it’s not even the biggest game you’ll see that day.

On Friday morning, Tallulah Academy will play Franklin Academy in the MAIS eight-man championship game at Mississippi College. Later that night, Warren Central hosts Clinton in the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs.

Tallulah will be playing in its third consecutive championship game and trying to win for the second time in a row. The Trojans have had a remarkable run since switching from 11-man football to eight-man three years ago. Besides their title game appearances, they’ve won 32 of their last 35 games and can complete an undefeated season Friday.

Eight-man, 11-man, 2-man backyard football — whatever level you’re playing on, that’s impressive.
With all due respect to the Trojans, however, the nightcap on Highway 27 is the main event.

The last time Warren Central and Clinton played, a sellout crowd of about 7,500 showed up to see a matchup of top-5 teams. WC won 50-32 to hand the Arrows their only loss of the season.

No one expected it to be that easy for the Vikings the first time, and it’s bound to be even more difficult with the stakes raised higher. The winner this time goes on to play either Tupelo or Madison Central in the semifinals. Clinton hasn’t been that deep in the playoffs since 2004, and Warren Central since 1994.

Both the Arrows and the Vikings have been on the rise for several years. Clinton is trying to send vaunted quarterback Cam Akers out with a championship, while Warren Central is trying to take another leap forward in re-establishing itself as one of Mississippi’s top programs. WC has done everything it can toward that end over the past three seasons, but a deep playoff run is still needed to cement its status.

These teams have been playing each other for nearly 50 years, and this ranks as one of the biggest meetings in that long-running rivalry. If 7,500 fans crammed into Viking Stadium last time, there might be twice that many trying to squeeze through the gates this time.

“Better get there early,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said after last week’s playoff win over South Panola.

Better yet, if you can, make a day of it. It might take that long just to get through the traffic on Highway 27.

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Ernest Bowker is a sports writer for The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com