Warren Central came out of the dressing room at halftime and looked like the Vikings of old. They methodically drove down the field on a 13-play, 60-yard drive to pull within five points.

But one drive does not a game make, and WC only had one of them worth anything all night.

The Vikings were held to 117 total yards and turned the ball over three times in an 18-7 loss to previously winless South Pike.

&#8220We’ve struggled on offense all year and this is a big win for us,” South Pike coach Randall Huffman said. &#8220Maybe we turned the corner. We are young, but maybe we grew up tonight.”

Travorrious Marsalis threw for a pair of touchdowns – including one as the buzzer sounded ending the first half – and ran for another as the Eagles (1-2) outgained WC by 100 yards.

Coming into the contest, South Pike had suffered two straight shutout losses, but ended an eight-quarter drought when Marsalis ran in from 2 yards out with 42 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Both team sloughed through the second quarter before the Eagles scored on a 34-yard pass from Marsalis to Ross ashe halftime buzzer sounded as the ball traveled through the air. Ross leaped over two Viking defenders to snag the touchdown and put the visiting Eagles ahead 12-0.

&#8220We got all the momentum right there,” Marsalis said. &#8220Coach called a great play and we accelerated from there.”

A heated halftime speech and some personnel changes on offense paid immediate dividends for WC, which marched down the field behind backup quarterback Keaton Sanders, junior fullback Travis Bell and sophomore halfback Joel Forbes.

Forbes ran for 33 yards and Bell 27 as the Vikings ran 13 running plays before Forbes plowed into the end zone to get WC within 12-7.

On the Eagles’ next possession, WC committed a costly pass interference penalty, allowed a long fourth-down completion to get the ball to the WC 4 yard line. Three plays later, Marsalis connected with Ross on a 7-yard scoring pass and an 18-7 lead with 1 minute to play in the third quarter.

After South Pike’s final score, the Vikings ran 12 plays, gained nine yards and turned the ball over twice.

The Vikings had 109 rushing yards and eight through the air.

The road gets no easier for WC as the Vikings travel to play defending Class 5A South State champion Meridian on the road on Friday night.