Warren Central and South Panola seemed to be on a collision course throughout the 1993 season.

Each team slowly accumulated wins, one by one, and crushed playoff opponents without mercy. Each team had a close call in midseason – South Panola edged Greenwood by five points, WC beat Hattiesburg by one – but had otherwise flattened all challengers.

By the end of the year, no one was left to stand against them except the other. And on Dec. 3, 1993, the two undefeated titans met at Jackson’s Veterans Memorial Stadium for the Class 5A championship in a game that’s been rated among the best ever in the state.

At least a dozen future Division I prospects – including future NFL stars Deshea Townsend and Dewayne Rudd of South Panola – suited up. And the game itself didn’t disappoint, either. The back-and-forth contest featured big plays, dramatic moments and an outcome that wasn’t decided until the final minute.

&#8220Definitely one of the better ballgames I’ve ever been involved in. My heart fell a couple of times with (Brian) Darden walking that sideline,” said Willis Wright, South Panola’s head coach from 1991 to 1993 and now the school’s defensive coordinator. &#8220The talent level was great, and we were both 14-0 and playing for a state championship. And both teams had kids with character.”

Warren Central and South Panola entered the 1993 season with vastly different pedigrees, but similar recent histories.

WC had been a juggernaut throughout the 1970s and 80s before consolidation led to a couple of mediocre seasons in the early 90s. South Panola, meanwhile, had been an also-ran for years.

By 1993, however, both teams were on their way to the top of the mountain. Warren Central had a strong group of players that included All-America running back Brian Darden, future Mississippi State quarterback Rob Morgan, and nearly a half-dozen others who went on to play college ball.

Besides Townsend and Rudd, who both played at Alabama before heading to the NFL, South Panola had four other players who went on to play in the Southeastern Conference.

&#8220It was two very good football teams with a bunch of very good athletes on them,” said Robert Morgan, WC’s head coach from 1985-2002 and a current assistant coach. &#8220They had 10 or 12 that played Division I, and a lot of them are still playing.”

After dispatching playoff foes Brandon, West Point and Tupelo by a combined score of 110-13, the Tigers were ready to take on Warren Central. The Vikings had also dominated in the postseason, beating Pascagoula 52-22, Moss Point 24-10, and Clinton 27-6.

By the time they met in Jackson, both teams were 14-0. It was the first time two undefeated teams had met for the Class 5A title since 1987, and the winner would become the first team to finish a season 15-0.

South Panola struck first, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 2-yard run by Paul Morgan. WC tied it 14-14 by halftime, and in the second half the real fireworks began.

Darden scored on a 23-yard run – his third touchdown of the game – to put WC in front. South Panola tied it again on a 5-yard run by Paul Morgan, but Darden ripped off an 81-yard run for another touchdown and a 28-21 lead.

Darden finished the game with 196 yards and four touchdowns on only 13 carries.

It seemed like the teams would keep going like this, trading scores as if it were a backyard game on a Sunday afternoon, until one fateful play late in the third quarter turned the tide.

With a minute and a half to play, WC lined up to punt. South Panola’s Malikia Griffin broke through the line, blocked David Smith’s kick, picked it up and returned it 23 yards for a tying touchdown.

&#8220The blocked punt, I thought, was the key play during that game. But either team could’ve won it,” Wright said. &#8220That gave us the momentum we needed.”

South Panola did indeed control the last 13 minutes, but it was that same span that made this game one for the ages.

WC was pinned deep and forced to punt on its next possession, but Smith unleashed a 72-yard bomb that bailed the Vikings out of trouble. South Panola answered with a slow, methodical 14-play, 80-yard drive to the go-ahead score. James Cooper scored on a 7-yard run with 4:55 left in the game, capping a drive that would come to symbolize South Panola’s style for the next 15 years.

All 14 plays were runs. In the game, South Panola had 66 offensive snaps – 65 of them running plays. The Tigers gained 341 yards on the ground, including 143 by Paul Morgan and 96 by Cooper. Townsend added another 75 yards.

&#8220That’s Willis Wright. That’s what they do,” Robert Morgan said simply.

Warren Central had a couple of chances to tie the game, but South Panola’s defense took over down the stretch. It forced three turnovers in the last five minutes that kept the Vikings from getting started.

WC held firm with its own defense, showing its own championship credentials. After two of the turnovers, South Panola had the ball deep in WC territory. Panola didn’t score either time.

Finally, WC got the ball back for one last-ditch drive. It took over at its own 9-yard line with just over a minute left. Rob Morgan threw an incompletion on first down, then an interception on second. Kevin Cooper returned it for a game-sealing 20-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left.

The pick was the last of six Warren Central turnovers in the game. Rudd had two fumble recoveries, and two other turnovers were turned into South Panola touchdowns.

&#8220Those guys just weren’t used to losing. We were devastated by the loss, as much as by losing the championship game,” Coach Morgan said. &#8220They gave everybody a medal. We got the next one, bronze or whatever it was, and boy I can tell you they didn’t want it.”

Cooper’s interception return sealed the game and planted the seeds for a dynasty. South Panola reached the championship game again in 1996 and 1997, losing both times to Moss Point before finally winning a second title in 1998. Ten years later, South Panola added the first of four consecutive titles to its trophy case.

&#8220It sort of took off after that,” Wright said of the ’93 title.

Warren Central, meanwhile, reached the championship game again in 1994 with perhaps the best team in school history. WC beat Provine 14-0 to finish the season 14-1 and win its second state title. It also won it all in 1988.

Despite having two rings, Robert Morgan still seems a little bitter about the one that got away in 1993.

Then came 1995 when the Vikings and Tigers met again.

&#8220I’d rather talk about the 1995 game when we played them here and beat them in the playoffs,” Morgan said. &#8220We still had that in our craw.”

Indeed, in 1995 the Vikings did gain a measure of revenge.

In a first-round playoff game at Viking Stadium, WC scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and came up with three defensive stops in the fourth to beat South Panola 14-6.

The teams met again in the 2000 playoffs, with a decidedly different outcome. South Panola routed WC 43-0. They’ll meet again on Thursday for the first time since then, when the Tigers bring a nationally ranked team to Vicksburg for the Red Carpet Bowl.

Panola, riding a state record 60-game winning streak, is a heavy favorite. WC is a long way removed from the glory days of the mid-90s, coming off a 5-6 season in which it missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.

But with the start of a new season brings hope of an upset for the ages. Hype and anticipation has swirled around this year’s Red Carpet Bowl like few other times in the game’s 35-year history.

It’ll be hard, though, to top that first link in the historical chain between WC and South Panola.

&#8220Anybody that saw that one,” Wright said, &#8220will probably remember it, because it was a great one.”