Warren Central will have two weeks to dissect, learn from and contemplate Friday night’s outing against Neville.

It will not be an enjoyable two weeks.

Neville quarterback Jordan Thomas ran for two touchdowns, Gordon Willson kicked a pair of field goals, and the Vikings never got going as they lost 27-10 to the perennial Louisiana power.

Warren Central (1-2) has an open date next week before its Region 2-6A opener against Northwest Rankin on Sept. 21. It’s the first time since 2012 that Warren Central has finished its non-region schedule with a losing record.

“Our whole mindset is getting better. It can be a positive or a negative, and our focus is on getting them ready to go. It can be a good thing for us, or it can snowball into a worser thing,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “We’re not where we need to be. We’re still searching for some identity and we’re still searching for a lot of different positions. I don’t know when that answer will come. In our district we have a lot of room for improvement and not a lot of time to get there.”

Warren Central wiped out an early 10-0 deficit against Neville with a safety on a bad punt snap, a 35-yard touchdown run by Jerrious Stovall. Stovall carried twice for 82 yards on the quick drive, and tied the game with a two-point conversion run.

Neville answered with another touchdown by Thomas, however, and then took control in the second half. A 2-yard touchdown by Javon Carter capped a 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. Willson’s second field goal of the game, from 38 yards, made it 27-10.

Willson’s first field goal was from 36 yards.

“They jumped out on us, and we didn’t play very well in all three phases. We didn’t have a bright spot in the game,” Morgan said. “Of course it’s frustrating. We have a lot to get better at.”
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Monroe News-Star sports writer Adam Hunsucker contributed to this report.