Warren Central’s defense turned in a solid performance in Friday’s preseason scrimmage against North Pike.

The offense still has some work to do.

Ben McMullin returned a fumble for a touchdown on the opening series of the game, and it stood up as the only score as the Vikings beat North Pike 6-0. The teams played two quarters of mostly sloppy football, with penalties and turnovers ruling the night.

Warren Central was called for five holding penalties, and had two others declined. It also allowed five sacks and lost two fumbles. Even sophomore kicker Jonah Artman, who only missed one PAT and one field goal all of last season, missed one of each on Friday.

The junior varsity also played two quarters, and Warren Central won 14-0 in that part of the scrimmage.

“We’re young. Young quarterback, young offensive line, and a lot of it is lazy mistakes. As hot as it is out here and we haven’t done it a lot,” senior center Beau Davis said. “We’ve got a lot of growing up to do. There’s some good stuff to take away from this but also some bad stuff. We’ll learn over the weekend.”

McMullin’s scoop-and-score touchdown highlighted a strong game for the Vikings’ defense. Ronnie Blossom came off the edge and blindsided North Pike quarterback Ty Jones, jarring the ball loose. McMullin, a senior, picked it up and ran 25 yards to the end zone.

“Honestly, it was just a spur of the moment thing. I knew what to do with it, and then as soon as I got in the end zone I just felt all of the emotions and everything,” McMullin said.

North Pike had 20 total yards on six offensive possessions. One of its two first downs came via a penalty.

“I think we played pretty well for the most part. There was a few areas we could fix, but I think we’ll be fine,” McMullin said.

Davis graded the Vikings’ game a little more harshly. The holding penalties wiped out a couple of big gains, stalled two drives in the second quarter, and overshadowed some decent individual performances.

Quarterbacks Nash Morgan and Ryan Nelson combined to go 8-of-11 passing for 80 yards. Maddox Lynch caught three passes for 55 yards, while Eric Collins Jr. ran the ball eight times for 55 yards.

“There’s been some bad and good, but it’s probably a C, C-minus,” Davis said. ”There’s definitely some things we need to improve on, but it’s not all bad. There’s some positives to take away from this.”

The Vikings have a week to figure it out, before they begin the regular season against Clinton in the Red Carpet Bowl.
Kickoff for the first game of the doubleheader is at 5:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 25. Vicksburg plays Holmes County Central in the second game at 8 p.m.

“They’re (North Pike) a good team and all, but we’re going against a better Clinton team next week. A lot of learning to do,” Davis said.