[9/12/03]Nowhere, from Class 1A to Class 5A will one find a better coached team than South Pike, Warren Central coach Robert Morgan said.

Whether it was Greg Wall, who coached the team for years, or current coach Randall Huffman, Morgan said his team will have its work cut out for it when the Vikings (1-1) travel to No. 9 South Pike (2-0) tonight. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Magnolia.

The Vikings are coming off a 20-14 loss to McComb in a game that they were leading 14-0 at halftime. The Tigers took advantage of several mistakes to score 20 second-half points for the win.

“Our guys knew what they did wrong and know what they need to do to fix the mistakes,” Morgan said. “I was impressed with that.”

While the Vikings are coming off a loss, the Eagles are riding the momentum of a 47-6 thumping of Natchez.

A very experienced offense the team lost only two starters from last year was able to run the ball at will against the Bulldogs.

Huffman said this week’s game will be quite different.

“(Warren Central) can beat you in a lot of ways,” Huffman said. “They run the option, have good running backs and throw the ball well. On defense they are very tough.”

Huffman said his own defense is one of his main concerns. The Eagles lost eight starters and have repositioned some of the others.

“We’re just an average team,” Huffman said. “We don’t have any blue-chippers.”

What the Eagles do have is speed and lots of it. Led by pint-sized quarterback Fred Jones and explosive wide receiver Quentrelle Green, the Eagles are capable of scoring from anywhere on the field.

“You’ll find a lot of teams bigger than they are, but I’ll tell you, when you step on that field, you better have your guns loaded,” Morgan said. “They play everything well. I was totally impressed with everything they do.”

The Vikings, who peaked this year at No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, tumbled out of the rankings this week.

“We look forward to going down there and hopefully redeem ourselves,” Morgan said. “Hopefully we can win the football game and come on home.”