Greatest on the Gridiron tournament reaches the Elite Eight round

Published 4:52 pm Friday, July 17, 2020

The second round of The Vicksburg Post’s Greatest on the Gridiron tournament saw another No. 1 seed fall and Vicksburg High take over the top half of the bracket.

Four of the eight teams remaining in the tournament to crown Warren County’s best high school football team of all-time are from VHS, and all of them reside in the Vikings and Gators regions.

The 1978 Vicksburg Gators knocked off top-seeded 1994 Warren Central, 64-57, for the closest victory among the eight second-round games. They advanced to the championship game of the Vikings Region against 2001 Vicksburg, which defeated 2006 Porter’s Chapel 81-22.

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In the Gators Region, the No. 1 seed 1973 Vicksburg Gators beat 1993 Warren Central 95-47; and 1990 Vicksburg beat 1974 Warren Central 72-51 to set up another all-VHS regional final.

In the bottom half of the bracket, Rosa A. Temple teams from 1970 and 1966 will meet for a spot in the Final Four after both scored lopsided wins in the Flashes Region.

The 1970 Buccaneers beat 1993 Vicksburg 108-35, and 1966 Temple defeated 1979 Warren Central 102-52. The two Temple teams both received the most votes in online voting at vicksburgpost.com.

In the Eagles Region, 1981 St. Aloysius beat its 1958 predecessor 71-36, while 2005 Porter’s Chapel got some strong support in the last 24 hours of voting to beat 1984 Vicksburg 83-61. PCA trailed by 33 votes, but rallied on the final day to win easily.

More than 1,000 online votes were cast in the eight second-round games, and nearly 3,000 have been cast so far in the tournament. Several games have been decided by single digits, so please visit vicksburgpost.com and make your voice heard.

Voting for the regional finals begins this weekend at vicksburgpost.com, and will remain open until noon on Thursday, July 23. You can also clip the bracket in today’s edition and mail or deliver it to our office at 1106 Washington St., Vicksburg MS 39180.

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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