Warren Central up to No. 3 in Class 6A poll

Published 4:31 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Warren Central keeps on winning, and keeps on gaining respect across the state.

The Vikings remained undefeated with a 23-10 victory over Germantown last week, and on Tuesday moved up one spot to No. 3 in the Mississippi Associated Press Class 6A poll. They also moved into the overall Top 10 for the first time this season, at No. 9.

Warren Central (4-0) benefited from a clash of two top-five teams last week. No. 1 Starkville beat then-No. 2 South Panola 38-20 in the Region 2-6A opener for both teams. Starkville remained No. 1 in Class 6A, but the loss dropped South Panola two spots to No. 4 — barely.

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Warren Central squeaked past South Panola (3-1) by one point in the voting, which awards 10 points for a first-place vote through six points for a fifth-place vote. Warren Central totaled 75 points, and South Panola had 74. A statewide panel of 10 media outlets voted in the poll.

Oak Grove also moved up one spot in the Class 6A poll, to No. 2. Oxford remained at No. 5.

In the overall poll, Warren Central was the only team among the top 10 that was not ranked last week. Starkville remained No. 1, and Oak Grove moved up two spots to No. 2. They were followed by West Point, West Jones, South Panola, Neshoba Central, Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Picayune, Warren Central and Oxford.

Warren Central will have an open date this Friday before taking on Madison Central next week in a huge Region 2-6A game. Although Warren Central is idle, it will pick up a forfeit victory over Greenville, which had previously opted not to play this season because of COVID-19 concerns. Greenville recently decided to reverse course and play a limited schedule.

In Class 5A, West Point (3-1) remained No. 1, and was followed by West Jones, Neshoba Central, Picayune and Lafayette. No. 3 Neshoba Central will play Vicksburg High (1-3) Friday at 7 p.m. at Warren Central’s Viking Stadium.

In other classifications, Nanih Waiya and Taylorsville maintained their No. 1 rankings in Class 1A and 2A, respectively. Nanih Waiya beat French Camp Academy 35-14 last week, while Taylorsville knocked off MAIS powerhouse Jackson Prep 47-37.

Columbia remained atop the Class 3A poll after defeating East Marion 38-0.

In Class 4A, Louisville moved up to the No. 1 spot with its 28-0 win over Yazoo City, while No. 2 Corinth slipped one spot after losing to MAIS power Madison-Ridgeland Academy 51-17.
Madison-Ridgeland Academy received nine of 10 first-place votes in the MAIS poll to maintain its No. 1 ranking. It was followed by Jackson Prep, Leake Academy, Heritage Academy and Greenville Christian.

Mississippi Associated Press Polls
By The Associated Press
Overall

School W-L Pts Prv
1. Starkville (10) (4-0) 100 1
2. Oak Grove (4-0) 82 4
3. West Point (3-1) 69 3
4. West Jones (3-0) 58 5
5. South Panola (3-1) 57 2
6. Neshoba Central (4-0) 41 8
7. Madison-Ridgeland Aca. (6-0) 38 6
8. Picayune (4-0) 36 7
9. Warren Central (4-0) 29 NR
10. Oxford (4-0) 20 9
Others receiving votes: Olive Branch 5, Taylorsville 5, Madison Central 4, D’Iberville 4, Leake Aca. 2.

Class 6A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Starkville (10) (4-0) 100 1
2. Oak Grove (4-0) 85 3
3. Warren Central (4-0) 75 4
4. South Panola (3-2) 74 2
5. Oxford (4-0) 60 5
Others receiving votes: Olive Branch 6.

Class 5A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. West Point (7) (3-1) 95 1
2. West Jones (2) (3-0) 88 2
3. Neshoba Central (1) (4-0) 79 3
4. Picayune (4-0) 77 4
5. Lafayette (2-2) 43 5
Others receiving votes: Hattiesburg 12, Ridgeland 6.

Class 4A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Louisville (6) (3-1) 95 2
2. Corinth (3) (2-2) 86 1
3. Newton County (1) (4-0) 84 3
4. West Lauderdale (2-2) 55 4
5. Poplarville (1-3) 38 5
Others receiving votes: Purvis 15, Pontotoc 13, North Pike 7, St. Stanislaus 7.

Class 3A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Columbia (6) (4-0) 96 1
2. Jefferson Davis County (3) (3-1) 92 2
3. Noxubee County (1) (2-1) 78 3
4. Magee (2-1) 65 4
5. West Marion (3-1) 63 5
Others receiving votes: Senatobia 6.

Class 2A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Taylorsville (10) (3-0) 100 1
2. Scott Central (3-1) 88 2
3. Enterprise Clarke (3-0) 79 3
4. North Side (0-0) 42 5
5. Calhoun City (2-2) 40 NR
Others receiving votes: Puckett 20, Walnut 12, Union 7, East Webster 6, Newton 6.

Class 1A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Nanih Waiya (7) (4-0) 97 1
2. Lumberton (2) (3-1) 86 3
3. Biggersville (1) (4-0) 85 2
4. Resurrection Catholic (4-0) 70 4
5. TCPS (2-2) 50 NR
Others receiving votes: Sebastopol 12.

Private Schools
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Madison-Ridgeland Aca. (9) (6-0) 99 1
2. Jackson Prep (4-1) 82 2
3. Leake Aca. (1) (6-0) 76 3
4. Heritage Aca. (5-1) 65 4
5. Greenville Christian (4-1) 31 5
Others receiving votes: Presbyterian Christian 26, Jackson Aca. 14, Parklane Aca. 7.
———
All Associated Press members in Mississippi are eligible to participate in the high school football poll. Those who voted for this week’s poll are: The Commercial Dispatch, Columbus; The Daily Corinthian, Corinth; Delta Democrat-Times, Greenville; Hattiesburg Impact, Hattiesburg; NE Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo; PinebeltSPORTS, Hattiesburg; The Natchez Democrat, Natchez; Enterprise-Journal, McComb; Starkville Daily News, Starkville; The Vicksburg Post, Vicksburg.

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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