Warren Central came to work this week feeling frustrated, angry and a little bewildered.

It’s what 0-1 feels like, and it’s been a long time since they’ve experienced its stinging sensation.

The Vikings lost 26-20 to Clinton in the Red Carpet Bowl last week, marking the first time since 2015 that they’ve lost the season opener. It’s also the first time they’ve been below .500 at any point in the season since losing a first-round playoff game in 2018 to finish 5-6.

The Vikings spent the past few days processing it all, and are more than ready to put it behind them when Pearl (1-0) visits Friday night at 7.

“Just like we handle it all the time. It’s not a setback, it’s not the end all and be all. We’re disappointed in how we played. Frustrated,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “We’ve got to correct what needs corrected and move forward, and we don’t have long to hang our head because we’ve got another stout opponent coming in and need to be ready to play at a high level.”

The frustration, Morgan said, came not from losing but rather how it happened. Warren Central gave up two touchdowns to Clinton in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half, on a blocked punt and a 72-yard run on which an experienced defense missed a half-dozen tackles.

The offense outgained Clinton 342 yards to 260, but failed to score on three trips inside the 5-yard line. The Vikings also lost three fumbles.

It was an agonizing string of mistakes, any one of which could easily be pointed to as the deciding factor in a one-score game. Taken together, they were impossible to overcome and win.
Morgan said cleaning it up was the team’s primary task this week.

“Frustrated is the word. Just very frustrated. If it could go wrong it seemed to go wrong. If it wasn’t one thing it was another, and it wasn’t just one thing. It was one of those nights,” Morgan said. “It would be poor coaching on our end if we didn’t use it to get better and correct things. That’s exactly what we plan on doing. Learn. Call it what it is. Get better from it and move forward.”

The Vikings can’t afford to dwell on it long, because Pearl is the second of five consecutive Class 7A opponents they’ll face in the non-region schedule.

The Pirates beat Neshoba Central 26-20 in their opener and are coming off a solid 8-4 season in 2023 that included an overtime victory over Warren Central and a trip to the second round of the playoffs.

Pearl’s 25-24 victory over WC was the third in four meetings that has been decided on the final play, and seventh in nine years decided by less than seven points.

“Pearl had a really good year last year and they’ve got most of those guys back. New coaching staff as well, so we’re preparing for a different look from Pearl. We’ve got our hands full,” Morgan said.

More than just with Pearl, though. The biggest thing for the Vikings this week is handling their own business and correcting all of the things that went wrong against Clinton.

Morgan noted that there are at least nine games left, including the most important ones in Region 2-6A and the playoffs. He and the Vikings aren’t overreacting to one sloppy game. More, he said, they’re making sure it doesn’t become a trend.

“We have to rise up, play at our level, play to our standard and we feel like the rest will take care of itself. But the big thing there is playing at our standard and the way we’ve been successful over the years. Last Friday night was not it,” Morgan said. “It’s not necessarily panic mode. We just have a lot to clean up. We didn’t play the way we wanted to play.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES
All games start at 7 p.m.
Pearl at Warren Central (Radio: 105.5 FM)
St. Aloysius at East Rankin (Radio: 101.3 FM)
Porter’s Chapel at Riverdale (Radio: 104.5 FM)
Vicksburg at Forest Hill (Radio: 107.7 FM)
Briarfield Academy at Tallulah Academy
Port Gibson at Jim Hill