CHAMPS:Vikings swamp Gators to earn first outright title since 1994 championship

[11/8/03]Things couldn’t have started any worse or ended any better for Warren Central on Friday night.

Christian Hales threw three touchdown passes two of them to Amos Chase and Larry Warner rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings exploded for 21 second-quarter points and crushed Vicksburg, 35-6.

WC’s 21st win in 23 meetings with the Gators gives the Vikings their first region championship since 1994 and a home game against Horn Lake in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs next week. VHS will host West Point.

“This is the first outright championship we’ve won since 1994, and that’s a big thing for us, and it makes me feel good, and good about our team,” WC coach Robert Morgan said.

Although Vicksburg tied with WC for the region title, the Gators lost out on the head-to-head tiebreaker. They also lost a lot more in Friday night’s defeat.

Vicksburg standout linebacker Rory Johnson was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament, and kicker Sean McGowan injured his kicking knee and is also done for the season. A.J. Hicks, a running back and defensive end, left the game with a hip pointer and should be back for the playoffs.

The injuries crippled a defense that was already reeling from the Vikings’ first-half onslaught.

“It was a big part. He’s half our defense,” VHS linebacker Ray Kline said of losing Johnson, who injured his knee while playing tailback early in the second quarter. “Losing him is just like taking the breath out of us.”

Warren Central’s first drive ended in disaster.

After returning the opening kickoff to the 31-yard line, Warner lost six yards on two carries and a penalty cost the Vikings five more yards before they were forced to punt. Vaughn Mims then dropped the snap before he could get the kick away, giving the Gators the ball at the WC 18.

“We couldn’t have started off the game any worse,” Mims said. “The snap was perfect and I dropped it. Just nervousness, I guess.”

The WC defense held the Gators on the ensuing possession, however, and Mims made up for his miscue. He came nearly untouched through the middle of the line to block McGowan’s 30-yard field goal attempt and keep the game scoreless.

“They just left a gap and there wasn’t nothing but space and opportunity,” WC linebacker Vaughn Mims said. “I just jumped up and got a hand on it. I didn’t really block it, I just got a tip of it.”

Vicksburg seemed to hold the Vikings on the next drive, but a huge gamble paid off for WC. Facing a fourth-and-inches at his own 22-yard line, Morgan sent his offense back on the field.

Warner bounced off a defender at the line of scrimmage and gained 18 yards for the first down.

“Vicksburg scores a lot of points. We like inches,” Morgan said. “We can’t get inches, we don’t deserve to win, and that’s the big thing about that.”

Seven plays later, Hales hit Chase deep down the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead with 2:14 left in the first quarter.

Chase only had to catch the ball and outrun one defender after sprinting through a busted coverage in the VHS secondary.

“We started off man and switched to zone, and I guess they didn’t get the message across,” Kline said.

The teams exchanged punts before Otis Stamps provided the next big spark for WC. He returned a punt 42 yards to the Vicksburg 12, setting up Hales’ 12-yard TD pass to Ferdale Carr on the next play.

The touchdown opened the floodgates for the Vikings.

Vicksburg quarterback James Jackson was intercepted by Michael Robinson on the Gators’ next possession, giving WC the ball at midfield.

Warner took an option pitch from Hales and sprinted 40 yards to the Gator 5, then bulled through the middle of the line for a touchdown on the next play to put WC ahead 21-0 with 4:18 left in the half.

Three plays later, Jackson threw another interception deep in his own territory. Jesse Pedyfoot returned the pick 22 yards to the VHS 4-yard line, setting up Warner’s second touchdown run of the game.

The 4-yard TD run gave WC a 28-0 lead, and 21 points in less than five minutes. The three scoring drives lasted a total of five plays and exactly one minute.

The rally stunned the Gators and everyone in the crowd estimated at 8,000. Warren Central scored as many points in one quarter as the Gators had allowed in their last five games combined.

“We had too many mental mistakes. We just got out there and didn’t play,” Kline said. “We came out and had the scheme, and just didn’t execute.”

Vicksburg did threaten to make a game of it in the second half, but hurt itself with bad penalties, questionable coaching decisions, and a pair of run-oriented drives that chewed up the clock.

Jackson scored on a 2-yard run with 8:57 left in the third quarter to make it 28-6, and the Gators got the ball back about three minutes later. They drove to the WC 36 in the final seconds of the period before facing a fourth-and-9.

With McGowan on the bench, VHS was well out of field goal range and needed a touchdown anyway. Instead of going for it, however, VHS coach Alonzo Stevens elected to use a quick punt by Jackson.

The move backfired. WC got the ball at the 16-yard line and embarked on a 16-play, 84-yard drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes. The drive was kept alive by an illegal participation penalty on a punt the second time that had happened in the half and WC converted four of five third downs.

Hales finally capped the march, and the game, with a 10-yard TD pass to Chase to make it 35-6 with 2:20 remaining.

“I was hoping we could get down there,” Stevens said of the punt by Jackson. “We had the fumble, and they lost it and got it back. It’s just one of those nights. Everything we did just came up a little short.”