After they finished off a 35-7 win over Vicksburg on Friday night, the Warren Central Vikings went through the usual steps of a postgame celebration over a rival.

They congratulated a few of the Gators, hoisted the River City Classic trophy, and then sprinted to the east end zone of Viking Stadium to dance as the band played the school fight song.

And then they smiled some more knowing what the victory really meant.

More than cementing their dominance over VHS for another year — this was Warren Central’s sixth win in a row in the series — it snapped them out of a funk and ensured that they’ll be no worse than .500 heading into Region 2-6A play in two weeks.

“It was way more than a streak. We didn’t talk about that. We talked about winning our next game, and playing good against a very good Vicksburg team,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “We started very lethargic. We just weren’t ourselves. There’s a lot to be learned from that. Luckily, we had a fire up under us the second half.”

Warren Central (2-1) scored 21 points in the first quarter of its previous game against No. 1 Pearl, and then was shut out the rest of the way in a 28-21 loss. It started slow again vs. Vicksburg, managing only 85 yards and one touchdown in a first half that ended in a 7-7 tie.

Morgan wasn’t discouraged by the slump against Pearl, but was clearly not happy with the first half against Vicksburg. He said he let the Vikings “have it” during a fiery halftime speech.

“We didn’t have that get-out, which I don’t understand coming into a big game like this,” Morgan said.

The message was received, and the Vikings got their swagger back in the second half. They scored on four consecutive possessions and moved the ball to the Vicksburg 24 on a fifth before turning it over on downs as they tried to run down the clock late in the fourth quarter.

WC had 209 yards of offense in the second half. The defense held the Gators to two first downs and didn’t allow them to cross midfield until the final play of the game.

Vicksburg’s touchdown came on its opening drive, and it did not cross midfield again until Anfernee Battle reached the WC 47 with about 10 seconds remaining in the game.

“We only had one day of practice, so we showed in the second half what kind of team we were,” said WC running back Corey Wilson, who rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns. The Vikings were limited to one day of outdoor practice last week because of steady rain associated with Hurricane Harvey.

When the final whistle blew, the Vikings’ record stood at a solid 2-1. They’ve beaten Clarksdale and Vicksburg, two talented but struggling Class 5A teams, and pushed top-ranked Pearl to the limit in a tough road game.

Up next is Neville, a perennial Louisiana power that had lost one regular-season game since 2010 until dropping its season opener 19-10 to Ruston last week. Neville won the Louisiana Class 4A championship in 2014 and 2015, and lost in the title game last season.

The loss to Ruston was Neville’s first against a Louisiana team in the regular season Oct. 8, 2010 — coincidentally, also against Ruston.

The Vikings have played well enough to have more than a puncher’s chance against Neville, but it will certainly not be easy. That made getting a second non-region win, and ensuring they’ll come through this difficult four-game stretch no worse than 2-2, a big boost to a young team, Morgan said.

“When you start talking about confidence level, and about how that can waver with a young team, you have to win a few,” Morgan said. “So to come out of here sitting at 2-1, and still learning but also winning the game, we’re pleased with that.”