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Warren Central defensive end Ronnie Blossom runs with the football after recovering a fumble during an MHSAA Class 6A playoff game against Saltillo. Blossom also had an interception and a sack to lead the Vikings to a 43-0 victory. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central running back Aden Greer is hit by Saltillo's Robert Johnson Jr. (2) as he crosses the goal line to score a touchdown in Friday's MHSAA Class 6A playoff game. Greer rushed for 65 yards and a TD as the Vikings won 43-0. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central's Ceitrich Russell runs with the football after catching a pass during Friday's 43-0 playoff win against Saltillo. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central running back Eric Collins Jr. (20) high-fives teammate Jadarius Miller after scoring a touchdown in Friday's MHSAA Class 6A football playoff game against Saltillo. Warren Central won, 43-0. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central running back Aden Greer carries the football in Friday's MHSAA Class 6A playoff game against Saltillo. Greer rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown as Warren Central won 43-0. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central football players Ceitrich Russell (16), Larry Reynolds (8), Chaka Walker (34) and Chester Savage (28) kneel in prayer before the start of a playoff game against Saltillo. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Late in the third quarter, an errant pass sailed into Warren Central’s sideline. Head coach Josh Morgan reacted quickly, jumping high into the air to snag the football and earn a round of cheers from the crowd.

It was that kind of night for the Vikings. Everybody, even the coaches, seemed to be making plays.

Sophomore quarterback Nash Morgan threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and the Vikings scored on their first six possessions on the way to a 43-0 blowout of Saltillo in the first round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs on Friday.

“We were sharp and played well,” Josh Morgan said. “I thought we got ready to play, mentally. It had all the makings of, if we weren’t ready to go, a trap game and all that. So I’m so proud of the focus of our team and our leadership and our coaches. We were ready to play and played well.”

Warren Central (8-3) advanced to the second round for the fifth consecutive season. It will host South Panola (9-2) next Friday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m.

South Panola beat Ridgeland 34-27 in another first-round game Friday.

“We’re ready. We hope the stands are packed,” senior defensive back Rickey Neal Jr. said.

Warren Central came out ready and firing on all cylinders against Saltillo (3-9).

Eric Collins Jr. broke a 56-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. It was negated by an illegal block penalty, but the Vikings marched down the field anyway to score on Jadarius Miller’s 4-yard run and set the tone.

Nash Morgan had a 5-yard TD run on a broken play on the next series, and threw scoring passes of 45 yards to Jaylon Winters and 42 yards to Maddox Lynch in the second quarter.

Collins got in the end zone on a 10-yard run in the second quarter as well, and Jonah Artman booted a 38-yard field goal as the Vikings rolled to a 37-0 halftime lead.

“We talked about wanting to start fast for obvious reasons. Sometimes tension can build in the playoffs with all that’s at stake, so the big start was what we wanted. We couldn’t have drawn it up any better,” Josh Morgan said.
Aden Greer’s 4-yard TD run early in the third quarter finished the scoring.

Collins wound up with 80 rushing yards, Greer had 65, and Nash Morgan was 5-of-8 passing for 120 yards.

Lynch finished with three receptions for 62 yards and set Warren Central’s school record for career receiving yards on his touchdown catch. He now has 102 career receptions — also a school record — for 1,340 yards. Demond Patton had held the mark of 1,327 yards since 2019.

Defensive end Ronnie Blossom also had a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception to spearhead a defense that posted its second shutout in a row. It’s the first time since 2021 that Warren Central has had back-to-back shutouts. Saltillo finished with just 128 total yards, 54 of which came on a long pass in the second quarter.

“It’s great when we get to put our other defenses and offenses in and still have zero on the board,” Neal said.

Josh Morgan had one catch for, officially, zero yards. The Warren Central alum and former Mississippi State safety who still obviously has some ball skills broke into a wide grin when he was asked about showing them off.

“I just made a play,” he said, smiling and fighting back a big laugh. “We talked to our guys about it being go time, knowing how to respond in big moments, and I made a play.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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