[10/29/02]A Warren County sweep has the Clinton Arrows thinking region championship as the local playoff picture is starting to clear up.

Thanks to back-to-back wins over Vicksburg and Warren Central, the Vikings’ first loss of the season, Clinton is atop the Region 2-5A standings with a 4-1 mark. Vicksburg and Warren Central are also 4-1, but would lose out on tiebreakers should either end up tied with Clinton in the final standings.

The Arrows still have to play host to Callaway and at struggling Madison Central.

“It’s anybody’s game, and I thought it would come down to the last week of the season, and I still think it’ll come down to the last week of the season,” Clinton coach Pete Hurt said.

The turn of events could also put even more importance on the annual Vicksburg-Warren Central grudge match on Nov. 8.

Should the Gators (6-3, 4-1) beat Forest Hill on Friday for homecoming and Warren Central beat Murrah on the road, the two would still be tied for second, providing Clinton beats Callaway.

Should that happen, the winner of the Vicksburg-Warren Central matchup would get to host a playoff game, while the loser would have to travel, most likely to top-ranked South Panola or Starkville.

South Panola assumed the state’s No. 1 ranking this week after Wayne County’s loss to Hattiesburg and are 5-0 in Region 1-5A. No. 5 Starkville has one region loss, while Southaven, Horn Lake and Greenville-Weston have two each.

“There’s a lot of football still left,” Vicksburg coach Alonzo Stevens said. “The good thing is that we are home and don’t have to go on the road again. We are still right where we want to be.”

Callaway has two losses in the region, but would lose out on tiebreakers to both Warren Central and Vicksburg if the schools ended up with the same records.

“I am not worried about anybody else, just us. We have to take care of Murrah. They’ve won one game, but they score a ton of points,” WC coach Robert Morgan said. “If we’re to win the division, we’ll have to have some help. Clinton is the only one that controls their own destiny.”

At St. Aloysius, the Flashes’ loss to Dexter on Friday night probably cost the team a home playoff game, and made the final two games even more important.

Mize and Dexter are tied atop Region 4-1A, with Mize having beaten Dexter. Mize plays Stringer and West Lincoln a combined 1-15 the rest of the season.

St. Al’s season-ending home game against archrival Natchez Cathedral could mean the difference between the third and fourth seed for St. Al.

If the Flashes beat West Lincoln (1-8) on Friday and Cathedral beats Bogue Chitto, both schools would have two losses heading into the final game.

The winner would most likely go third and play either Union or Lake, while the loser would likely be matched up with unbeaten Puckett.

“You get down here in the last three division games, you need to stand up and be counted,” said St. Al coach Jim Taylor after his team’s loss to Dexter, “and when you don’t play well, that’s not good.”

Porters Chapel ended its season Friday night at 5-5 after a 41-0 loss to Humphreys Academy.