[1/15/03]Coming off a key win over Warren Central and having a division championship on the line, Vicksburg coach Drew Kennedy expected more out of his team Tuesday night.

Clinton scored less than two minutes into the game and rolled to a 7-2 win over the Gators (5-8, 2-1).

The Gators can still earn a playoff berth if Clinton beats Warren Central on Tuesday night. Should Warren Central win, a tiebreaker would have to be used.

“We play Pearl that night, so all we can do is play our game and come back and see how Warren Central did,” Kennedy said. “If this same Clinton team shows up, I think Warren Central will have its hands full.”

David McLaurin scored three goals, while Jeremy Stringer scored two, and Oma Adaa and Matt Fulton each scored one in the win.

Matt Minyard scored one of the two Vicksburg goals late in the game. The Gators’ first score came when Clinton’s Michael Brown, a Stanford University recruit, headed a ball into the Arrows’ goal.

“We knew they were playing for a district title tonight and had a lot of excitement,” said Clinton coach Jeff Long, a former Warren Central girls soccer coach. “We wanted to get a goal early to let them know that we were here.”

The Arrows led 3-1 at the half and could have made it worse early in the second, but Brown’s penalty shot hit the post and bounced wide five minutes into the second half.

Clinton added four goals in the second half.

Vicksburg players and coaches complained vehemently over a pair of apparent takedowns in the Clinton box. No penalties were called, but four yellow cards were handed out two each to Vicksburg and Clinton.

Vicksburg attempted only three shots on the night, with Minyard’s finding the back of the next 27 minutes into the second half. Clinton outshot VHS, 21-3.

(B) WC 4, Ruston, La. 1

Greg Carroll and Dusty Pennington each scored a pair of goals to lead Warren Central to the victory.

The Vikings (8-6-1) got a pair of assists from Allen Carlisle and one from A.J. Barnes as they held a 2-0 lead at halftime.

WC will travel to Madison-St. Joseph on Saturday.