[11/6/04]Of all of Warren Central’s drives through the Vicksburg defense Friday night, the most telling was the one that resulted in a missed field goal.

Holding a commanding 37-point advantage, Warren Central methodically moved the ball down the field using its second-team offense. The drive went 54 yards on 16 plays and chewed up 8 minutes, 58 seconds off the game clock.

With basic dive plays, WC churned out first down after first down, much like they had all night.

The Vikings, in usual fashion in a series dominated so heavily by one school, did whatever needed to be done to win.

They won without Larry Warner, who was held to a season-low 31 yards on 13 carries against a Gators’ defense bent on stopping one man.

What Vicksburg couldn’t have planned on was Jesse Pedyfoot running for 100 yards on five carries and a touchdown. They couldn’t have counted on backup quarterback Ryan Williams throwing two long passes for touchdowns. They couldn’t have counted on a WC defense that was in zero danger of being scored upon all night long.

What the Gators learned is that the Vikings can hurt you in so many different ways. Logic says stop Warner. Stopping Warner, though, means leaving defensive backs on an island covering wide receivers one-on-one. Stopping Warner means leaving Pedyfoot to take fullback dives and turn them into big gainers.

Warren Central beat Vicksburg however it had to be done. It beat the Gators on offense, defense and special teams.

Now, the Vikings enter the playoffs on a seven-game winning streak. WC will host Tupelo on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Until then, most of the WC coaches’ eyes will be on the medical reports.

Starting quarterback Christian Hales, who suffered a neck stinger in last week’s win over Grenada, did not suit up for the second half. Chico Hunter was knocked silly on a hit on VHS quarterback Eugene Morgan and did not return. Pedyfoot spent the second half on crutches with an apparent leg injury. Starting linebacker Zach Balthrop sat out the fourth quarter after injuring his foot.

Warren Central will have a week to mend that rash of injuries. The Vikings proved that they can win with a bevy of weapons.

But come playoff time in Class 5A, they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders.

Against Vicksburg, it didn’t seem to matter.

Sean P. Murphy is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. E-mail him at smurphy@vicksburgpost.com.