Warren Central’s Greg Head doesn’t want to tell other coaches how to run their teams, but when it comes to his outstanding sophomore striker Jacob Porter there is one decision that puzzles him.

“He plays defense for a select team and I can’t understand this because I swear he’s about the best player I’ve seen where, once he gets past you, he’s going to stay between you and the ball,” Head said.

While Porter might be tasked with preventing goals for his other teams, his job during the high school season is to score them for Warren Central — and he does it very, very well.

Porter followed up an excellent freshman season with a breakout performance as a sophomore. He scored 26 goals, assisted on six more, and earned The Vicksburg Post’s boys soccer Player of the Year award as Warren County’s top player.

“I think it’s a great honor to have as a sophomore, but I could not have done it without my team and without Coach Head,” Porter said.

Porter had seven goals and five assists while playing on the wing in the 2023-24 season. When the Vikings lost their top two goal scorers, Head shifted Porter to striker and the team reaped the benefits.

Porter scored a goal in 16 of Warren Central’s 23 games and converted about a third of his shots on goal into goals.

Porter credited his teammates for setting him up with good passes that often allowed him to get a step on defenders.

“Having good teammates that can pass you the ball is a good thing,” he said. “I feel like I use my body really well. I can finish pretty well. But it all starts with having a good team that can pass you the ball and get you the ball up the field.”

Porter’s emergence helped his teammates as much as he helped them. The Vikings scored 85 goals this season — an average of 3.7 per game. Six players scored at least five apiece.

They also had nearly a dozen penalty kick opportunities, which Head said was often a direct result of Porter’s play.

“You talk about why we got a lot of penalty kicks? Because of Jacob,” Head said. “He’s probably the best person I’ve seen in a while that, once he gets past you, he’s going to stay between you and the ball no matter where you are and take that 1-v-1 shot on the goal. He got taken out a lot from behind and we got a lot of penalty kicks out of that.”

With Porter powering the offense, Warren Central won the MHSAA Region 2-6A championship and reached the Class 6A semifinals for the second year in a row before losing to Center Hill. Prior to 2024, they hadn’t been that deep in the postseason since the early 1990s.

Porter helped shore up some question marks on offense, but he’s already penciled in as a focal point for the 2025-26 Vikings. The top five goal scorers this season are all returning.

Porter is excited to be a part of a new golden age for the program, and hopefully make it even better by winning a state championship.

“The past two years have been really great. Any time you’re in the playoffs it’s a whole different atmosphere because everything matters a lot more,” Porter said. “It continues to build and build. Hopefully we can continue to build and beat Center Hill eventually. I think if we get them next year we have a good chance. We have a young core I feel like we can build on and be really good next year.”

Vicksburg Post Boys Soccer Players of the Year
2025 – Jacob Porter, Warren Central
2024 – Tyler Godshaw, Warren Central
2023 – Birame Ndiaye, Warren Central
2022 – Cooper Madison, St. Aloysius
2021 – Tony King, Warren Central
2020 – Kieran Theriot, St. Aloysius
2019 – Ryan Theriot, St. Aloysius
2018 – Braylen Greer, Warren Central
2017 – Braylen Greer, Warren Central
2016 – John Austin Burris, Warren Central
2015 – Nick Wright, Warren Central
2014 – Chris Kurtz, Warren Central
2013 – Garrett Watson, Vicksburg
2012 – Chandler Bounds, Warren Central
2011 – Erik Chappell, Warren Central
2010 – Tim Hoeptner, Warren Central
2009 – Erik Chappell, Warren Central
2008 – Bowen Woodson, Vicksburg
2007 – Cameron Curtis, Vicksburg
2006 – Michael Cooper, Vicksburg
2005 – Michael Cooper, Vicksburg
2004 – Luke Sellers, Warren Central
2003 – Michael Head, St. Aloysius
2002 – Michael Head, St. Aloysius
2001 – Andy Gough, St. Aloysius
2000 – Chad Henley, Warren Central
1999 – Mark Titre, Vicksburg