Vikings hold steady in AP football poll

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Warren Central held steady in the latest Mississippi Associated Press overall high school football poll, and made a little bit of forward progress in the Class 6A poll.

The Vikings remained at No. 7 in the overall poll following their 17-7 win over Neville (La.) last week. They had been tied with Starkville and Brandon, but held the spot themselves this time as Starkville moved up to No. 6 and Brandon dropped out of the top 10.

In Class 6A, the Vikings crept up one spot to No. 6 after checking in at No. 7 in the first two polls of the season. They received 20 points in voting by state media members. A first-place vote is worth 10 points, a second-place vote nine points, and so on through 10th place.

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Warren Central improved to 3-1 with its win over Neville and is on a bye this week. It will go on the road to play Northwest Rankin in the Region 2-6A opener on Sept. 22.

West Point (3-0) remained atop the overall poll after receiving eight of the 13 first-place votes and 123 points. Pearl (4-0), which handed Warren Central its only loss of the season, got the other five first-place votes and 119 points and is ranked No. 2 for the second straight week. Pearl was ranked No. 1 in the first two polls of the season.

Tupelo, Madison Central, Hattiesburg, Starkville, Warren Central, Oak Grove, Poplarville and Olive Branch rounded out the overall top 10.

Pearl kept its grip on the top ranking in Class 6A by receiving 10 of the 13 first-place votes. Tupelo (4-0) got the other three and is ranked No. 2, followed by Madison Central (3-0), Starkville (3-1) and Oak Grove (3-1) in the top five.

Oak Grove had 45 points, and then Warren Central was next. Others receiving votes were Brandon, Meridian, Hancock and Oxford.

West Point is ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, but was not a unanimous choice. Hattiesburg (4-0) received two first-place votes and is ranked second, and No. 5 Cleveland Central (4-0) got one first-place vote. Between them, Olive Branch (4-0) checked in at No. 3 and Picayune (3-1) at No. 4.

The No. 1 teams in the other classifications are Poplarville in Class 4A, North Panola in 3A, Philadelphia in 2A, Simmons in 1A, and Jackson Prep in the MAIS poll.

Simmons and Jackson Prep were unanimous No. 1s in their respective classifications.

Mississippi Associated Press Prep Polls
Overall
1. West Point (3-0)
2. Pearl  (4-0)
3. Tupelo    (4-0)
4. Madison Central    (3-0)
5. Hattiesburg    (4-0)
6. Starkville    (3-1)
7. Warren Central    (3-1)
8. Oak Grove    (3-1)
9. Poplarville    (4-0)
10. Olive Branch    (4-0)
Others receiving votes: Pontotoc 10, Cleveland Central 8, Brandon 8, North Panola 4, Picayune 4, Jackson Prep 3, Yazoo County 3, Northwest Rankin 3, Philadelphia 2, Simmons 1.

Class 6A
1. Pearl (4-0)
2. Tupelo (4-0)
3. Madison Central    (3-0)
4. Starkville    (3-1)
5. Oak Grove    (3-1)
Others receiving votes: Warren Central 20, Brandon 13, Meridian 6, Hancock 6, Oxford 6,

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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