When 10 seniors left from a team that won 22 games in 2014, and only three juniors rose up to fill their roles, it was obvious that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Warren Central.

Nobody seemed to tell them that, however.

The Vikings finished 18-13, won their first division championship since 2010, and made it to the quarterfinals of the playoffs for the first time since 2005. They pushed eventual Class 6A champion Desoto Central to three games in a playoff series and beat powerhouses Northwest Rankin and Clinton in the regular season.

It was a milestone year, a memorable year, and one that brought The Vicksburg Post’s Coach of the Year award back to Highway 27. For the job he did in guiding the Vikings to their best season in a decade, Conner Douglas claimed the award for the second consecutive season.

“It’s more of a team award. It just tells you how hard these players are working, how good of a job these coaches are doing with them,” Douglas said. “Coach (Randy) Broome, (Scott) Trousdale) and (Jim) Abraham did a great job with them.”

Warren Central finished 22-8 in 2014, but lost to Grenada in the first round of the playoffs. Ten seniors, including three junior college signees, graduated from that team.

The 2015 squad had plenty of potential, but was short on experience. Only three players in the everyday lineup were full-time starters in 2014.

The newcomers could hit, however, and the team soon found it could not only compete, but win.

The Vikings took two out of three in the season series with Clinton to end the Arrows’ five-year stranglehold on the Division 4-6A title. They won non-district games over eventual Class 1A champion Cathedral and Class 6A semifinalist Northwest Rankin, and lost close games to strong teams from Brandon and Madison Central.

“It was very enjoyable seeing the guys have success against the best of the best,” Douglas said. “We’ve been preaching it for years that you’re as good as you want to be. When you play the game of baseball, simplify it and keep it at that, you have a very good shot at making a run. They finally bought in, they finally saw results against good teams, and they started believing in themselves.”

The division championship gave Warren Central a bye in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs, and put it in a very familiar spot. WC had won some first-round series over the years, but hadn’t been past the second round since reaching the Class 5A semifinals in 2004. It got to the quarterfinals in 2005, but the playoffs were only four rounds that year.

The opponent was familiar, too — Grenada, which had eliminated WC in three games last year.

Led by senior center fielder Marcus Ragan, the Vicksburg Post Player of the Year, the Vikings finally flipped the script. Ragan went 5-for-8 with six RBIs and three runs scored in the series as WC won in three games.

Although WC was eliminated the following week in the quarterfinals against Desoto Central, getting over the second-round hurdle was a big step for the program, Douglas said.

“It was absolutely huge. Just the momentum it gives you going into the offseason,” Douglas said. “Then the guys seeing it and starting to believe, and seeing the support they get from the community once they get past that step. It was big that third round, probably seeing a thousand people out here from foul pole to foul pole.”

Now the challenge for Warren Central is to continue that momentum. Like last offseason, it’ll have to replace three junior college talents in the lineup. Ragan and first baseman Zach Cox signed with East Mississippi, while pitcher Layne Tedder is heading to Hinds.

Unlike last year, WC will have plenty of depth coming back. Ragan, Cox and Tedder are the only full-time starters who graduated.

It’s a good place for the program to be in, Douglas said. Success can breed success, and each class needs to build on the previous one. Just like this year’s team took a next-man-up approach, he’s ready for the 2016 Vikings to do the same.

“It was a lot of guys buying in to what we were doing. Hopefully it’s not so much of a rebuilding year any more, it’s more reloading just like all of the other powerhouse schools do,” Douglas said. “That’s what we’re trying to establish here. Getting the young guys reps and getting them ready for the next step, which is every year your seniors graduate and the next guys move in and they have to be ready to play.”

Vicksburg Post Coaches of the Year

2015 – Conner Douglas, Warren Central

2014 – Conner Douglas, Warren Central

2013 – Derrik Boland, St. Aloysius

2012 – Ryan Grey, Vicksburg

2011 – Jerry Bourne, Porters Chapel

2010 – Clint Wilkerson, St. Aloysius

2009 – Clint Wilkerson, St. Aloysius

2008 – Jamie Creel, Vicksburg

2007 – Clint Wilkerson, St. Aloysius

2006 – Randy Wright, Porters Chapel

2005 – Clint Wilkerson, St. Aloysius

2004 – Randy Broome, Warren Central

2003 – Randy Wright, Porters Chapel

2002 – Joe Graves, St. Aloysius

2001 – Sam Temple, Warren Central

2000 – Jamie Creel, Vicksburg

1999 – Randy Wright, Porters Chapel

1998 – Sam Temple, Warren Central

1997 – Ray Burroughs, Vicksburg

1996 – Joe Graves, St. Aloysius

1995 – Joe Graves, St. Aloysius

1994 – Joe Graves, St. Aloysius