Their performance in Week 1 left Warren Central with indigestion. Week 2 was quite the palate cleanser. Now it wants to really savor the sweet taste of success in Week 3.

The Vikings head to Germantown (2-0) on Friday night for a tough early-season test that will let them know exactly where they stand after splitting their first two games.

“They’re a really good football team. They’ve been trending upward. Big and physical, offensively they’re balanced and have a lot of good playmakers there,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “Defense, they’re going to fly around and crowd the box and make you make plays in the passing game. It’s just another really good opponent that will require our best. Another big test.”

Warren Central lost to Clinton in the Red Carpet Bowl with an uncharacteristically sloppy performance. It flipped that script in a 21-0 victory over Pearl last week.

The Vikings had two 100-yard rushers on offense, four takeaways and three sacks on defense, and blocked a punt on special teams. The total effort — and the week-long focus it took to pull it off — was exactly what Morgan wanted to see.

“It was good medicine,” Morgan said. “We focused on the week, the task at hand, playing better, and I felt like we did that. We played like the team that we could be. I was pleased with our guys’ preparation and performance. We responded well.”

Offensively, Morgan was especially pleased with the running game. Warren Central finished with 255 rushing yards as a team. Eric Collins Jr. had 128 yards and Aden Greer had 115, and each scored a touchdown.

“That’s such a welcome sight. Any time you have that kind of success, you’ve got to look at your O-line. We’re just super pleased to see that kind of effort from our O-line,” Morgan said. “Our backs were running hard, making cuts, had good vision, taking care of the football. There’s more where that came from. If we can repeat that consistently, that will really take our football team to another level.”

The 21-0 victory over Pearl was a rare bit of dominance in a series that had seen three of its previous four meetings decided on the final play.

As good as it was, though, Morgan said there was still plenty of room for improvement. Two first-half drives ended in missed field goals and another in a fumble at the goal line.

Picking those few mistakes apart might seem like picking nits in a victory that otherwise was everything the Vikings wanted and needed. That’s part of the pursuit of perfection and championships, though, which is something Morgan doesn’t want to gloss over.

“We still have a lot of work to do. We still left a lot of points on the board. We missed some opportunities that we really could have dominated the game with,” he said. “But we’re proud of our response and proud of the win.”

FRIDAY’S AREA GAMES
All games start at 7 p.m.
Warren Central at Germantown (Radio: 105.5 FM)
Natchez at Vicksburg (Radio: 107.7 FM)
Tri-County at St. Aloysius (Radio: 101.3 FM)
Humphreys Academy at Porter’s Chapel (Radio: 104.5 FM)
Tallulah Academy at Union Christian