One of the keys to Warren Central’s long-term success in football has been building a culture of winning. It’s got a chance to add another brick to that solid organizational structure.

Warren Central’s ninth-grade team clinched the Little Six Conference West Division championship and will play for the overall league title next week against Brandon.

It’s the first time since the Little Six split into two divisions in 2019 that Warren Central’s freshmen have won their division. Beating Brandon would give the program its first ninth-grade championship since 2007. It has finished second in the league four times in the past 15 years.

The Little Six is a 10-team junior high league comprised of teams in and around the Jackson Metro area.

“We try to take every part of our program and build it to be successful, and this is huge for us,” Warren Central ninth-grade head coach Matt Williams said. “It gets our kids used to playing in big-time games and it builds that culture at every level.”

Warren Central finished the regular season with a 4-2 record after defeating Vicksburg 16-6 on Tuesday. K.J. Wynn scored two touchdowns and two two-point conversions for the Vikings.

Warren Central’s seventh- and eighth-grade teams also beat Vicksburg, 21-0 and 36-0 respectively.

The ninth-grade team will play one more game, Oct. 10 at Brandon in the Little Six championship game. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

“One of the things (varsity head coach Josh) Morgan always says is that if you keep winning, each game is bigger than the last one. We won our side, so this game is bigger than the last one,” Williams said. “Being able to say we’re playing for a championship is always a good thing.”