Editor’s Note: This story appears in “Playmakers,” The Vicksburg Post’s annual football preview magazine. The 48-page special edition is included with the Aug. 24-25 weekend print and E-editions of The Post and includes previews, features and more for all of Warren County’s high school teams.

By the time his high school football career concludes in November or December, there’s a good chance Maddox Lynch will own Warren Central’s records for career receptions and receiving yards.

His ability to catch a pass is only part of what’s made him such a special player, however.

Lynch can throw. He can run. He can kick. If needed, he could probably step in on defense and make a tackle. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder’s versatility has made him a unique and valuable weapon that the Vikings are happy to have in their arsenal.

“The first thing I think of with Maddox is he’s a football player, and he’s a jam-up one at that. He’ll do whatever he’s asked to do,” Warren Central head coach Josh Morgan said. “Great attitude. Great physical attributes that he’s been blessed with, but his insides are just as good as his outsides.”

Lynch’s football path has almost been defined by positive detours. He said he grew up playing safety and linebacker, then was moved to offense as a sophomore. Playing tight end and receiver, he caught 36 passes for a team-high 553 yards and two touchdowns in 2022.

Lynch was also Warren Central’s backup quarterback that year and delivered a signature play in an unexpected spot.

In a second-round playoff game against Brandon, the Vikings were trailing 36-28 with about a minute left. Starter Jack Wright was slow to get up after taking a hit and had to leave the game for a play — on fourth-and-15.

Lynch stepped behind center, took the snap, and calmly zipped a laser beam on an out route for an 18-yard gain that kept the season alive.

“It was great. But going in there you don’t really think about it. You’ve got all your adrenaline running and everything, so you go in there and play football like you always have,” Lynch said. “It didn’t hit me until after the game. I don’t even know if I knew it was fourth down or not.”

Lynch was considered the next man up at quarterback when Wright graduated, but his success as a receiver made him too valuable to move. He stayed at that position while freshman Nash Morgan took over as the quarterback, and was again one of the team’s MVPs.

Lynch caught 27 passes for 346 yards and one touchdown in 2023, ranking second on the team in all three categories. He was also used as a wildcat quarterback in short-yardage situations and scored three rushing touchdowns on 17 carries.

“We’ve been asking him to do a lot. One of his biggest assets to us as an offense is his blocking. We all understand how dynamic he is in the passing game and how much of a mismatch he is for the other team. But he is just as dominant in the blocking game and in the run game, and for our team,” Josh Morgan said. “The risk that we would lose taking him out of our run game and our perimeter, he was so valuable to us right there, and then the emergence of Nash allowed us to make that decision.”

Lynch said it didn’t take him long to adjust to his role as a receiver and appreciate the possibilities it offered.

“I really started to enjoy it two or three games into the season and I realized all the stuff I could do and how I could help my team,” he said. “It was different learning something new. But I knew we had the team and I could go out there and it’d benefit the team going to the other position.”

Besides his offensive duties, Lynch is also Warren Central’s punter. He averaged 37.6 yards per punt last season, with a long of 55 yards, and delivered another signature play at that position.

In a preseason scrimmage against North Pike in August 2023, a snap sailed about five feet over his head. Lynch was able to jump and snag it with his long arms and got off a booming punt without missing a beat.

“I played soccer when I was little, too, so I’ve always been an athlete. I would go in the backyard and kick the ball around. It’s really just second nature,” he said.

Lynch is being recruited by a number of college teams. FCS schools Mississippi Valley State and Southeast Missouri State have offered scholarships, and so have most of Mississippi’s junior colleges.

Lynch figures he’ll play tight end at the next level, but said his ability to do a little of everything has helped gain the attention of colleges.

“It shows my true athleticism and what I can do, so it helps on the recruiting side of things,” he said.

Before he moves on, he’s got one other thing to accomplish. He is 26 receptions and 429 yards short of breaking the Warren Central school records held by Trey Hall and Demond Patton, respectively. Lynch enters the season with 63 catches for 899 yards.

Both records are within reach with another excellent season. So is a state championship, which would be an even bigger legacy to leave.

“It (the records) was a thought after last year, after I looked at all of it. But at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter as long as whatever I’m doing is helping us win games and hopefully a state championship,” Lynch said. “It would be special because I think it’s been 30 years this year. It would be really special to bring something back here that everybody’s been waiting on and counting on us to bring.”

2024 Warren Central schedule
All games at 7 p.m. unless noted
Aug. 30 — r-Clinton, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 6 — Pearl
Sept. 13 — at Germantown
Sept. 20 — at Brandon
Sept. 27 — Madison Central
Oct. 4 — Open date
Oct. 11 — *at Ridgeland
Oct. 18 — *at Vicksburg
Oct. 25 — *at Columbus
Nov. 1 — *Neshoba Central
Nov. 8 — *Callaway
r-Red Carpet Bowl
*MHSAA Region 2-6A games