JACKSON – Warren Central’s gameplan against Murrah was as vanilla as an ice cream cone on a summer day, and the payoff just as sweet.

Joel Forbes ran for 98 yards and a touchdown, and the Vikings amassed 191 yards on the ground as a team in rolling over Murrah 36-3 Thursday night at Newell Field in Jackson. Warren Central threw only one pass the entire game and scored 22 points in the second quarter to blow it open.

&#8220About five or six different plays,” Warren Central head coach Curtis Brewer said of his offensive play selection. &#8220We’re still holding to the basic offense and counting on the defense and special teams to give us a chance to win.”

They certainly did that on Thursday.

WC’s defense held Murrah to 209 yards of total offense, forced four turnovers in the second half and didn’t allow the Mustangs to penetrate deeper than the WC 16-yard line. On special teams, punter Eric Richards kept Murrah pinned deep in its own end by averaging 47.2 yards per punt. His average was boosted by punts of 60 and 61 yards.

The Vikings also scored a touchdown each on defense and special teams in the closing minutes to seal the game. Ben Wau Caples recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone with 2:39 to play, and Sean Elliott returned an interception 35 yards for a score with 7 seconds left for WC’s last two touchdowns.

&#8220It’s automatic. We don’t even need 14 points. A good seven or 10 will do,” said WC defensive end Vincent McRaven, who had three sacks. &#8220I believe we can do way better than we did tonight. They shouldn’t have gotten more than 10 yards rushing on us.”

The strong effort helped WC keep its slim playoff hopes alive. The Vikings (3-5, 2-2 Region 2-5A) must win the rest of their games to clinch a postseason berth for the 22nd straight season, and might even need some help beyond that. They host Clinton and Provine, two teams ahead of them in the standings, the next two weeks, then finish the regular season at archrival Vicksburg.

&#8220As bad as a preacher needs a congregation,” Brewer said when asked how bad the Vikings needed a win.

Although they were dominated for most of the night, Murrah (2-6, 0-4) actually led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. Warren Central fumbled the ball away on the opening kickoff, and the Mustangs recovered and converted it into a 33-yard field goal by Jared Twyner.

WC was forced to punt on its first drive, but Richards boomed a 60-yard punt that pinned the Mustangs at their own 5-yard line. Murrah picked up one first down before punting, and the Vikings took over at Murrah’s 39. Eight plays later, Vic Tyrone scored on a 2-yard run to put them ahead 7-3.

Forbes added a 15-yard TD run with 3:22 to play in the half, and holder Trey Robinson picked up a bad snap on the point after try and ran in for the 2-point conversion to make it 15-3. After Murrah punted on its next possession, the Vikings finally took to the air — sort of.

Facing a third-and-11 from his own 30 with less than two minutes left in the half, WC quarterback Keaton Sanders rolled left and dumped a screen pass to Tyrone. The senior fullback followed a wall of blockers for a nice gain, then hit the sideline and turned it into a 48-yard pick up. Caples took a handoff on an end-around on the next play and ran in for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 22-3 with 1:15 remaining.

&#8220The gameplan was to throw just enough,” said Brewer, who called for only one other pass in the game. Sanders was dropped for a sack on that play. &#8220When you’re playing as close to the vest as we do, and you get ahead you don’t want Murrah to get it in their heads that they can come back at you.”