It’s barely September, and this is already shaping up to be a bizarro-world season for Warren Central.

The Vikings endured months of hype and gave a good showing in last week’s opener, taking nationally ranked South Panola to the wire before losing 31-18. Now, just when the real season is about to start, they play a game that’s supposed to come at the end.

WC hosts Vicksburg tonight in week two of the high school football season. Thanks to Vicksburg’s move to Class 4A during the last round of reclassification, it’s the first time in the 26-year history of the rivalry that the teams have played in September.

It’s created a far more relaxed atmosphere in the WC fieldhouse, which usually bustles with tension and anticipation when Vicksburg week rolls around. This time, the mood is like that of any other non-region game.

“It seems unusual playing Vicksburg this early. It’s here and we hadn’t played but one game,” WC head coach Curtis Brewer said. “It’s just unusual. I don’t know any other word to put on it. It’s really like our opening ballgame.”

In many ways, this is the first night of the rest of the Vikings’ season. Vicksburg will provide a second stiff test after WC’s Red Carpet Bowl showing, but two more games against South Pike and Hazlehurst await before region play begins.

Opening with a team like Panola, followed by a rivalry game, leaves little opportunity for sending in scores of backups, though. That makes it tough to evaluate all the players on the roster and give younger players the game experience necessary to compete in region play.

“Right now, the early part of the season is about getting kids game experience. Now we’re opening with two games you’ve got to play hard,” Brewer said. “On a 5A schedule you don’t have many breathers. You’re going to have to play up for most of the schedule.”

Vicksburg, even without the rivalry factored in, will certainly not be on the short list of breathers for the Vikings.

The Gators pushed second-ranked Clarksdale to the limit last week before falling 28-17, and have the kind of overall team speed the Vikings lack. Quarterback Stanton Price, along with receivers Les Lemons, Delmon Robinson and John Qualls, anchor a passing game that’s at its best when it pushes the ball up the field.

Price threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns against Clarksdale, and the Gators attempted only eight running plays after their opening drive. Keeping up with them will be a challenge, Brewer said.

“Speed-wise, we just don’t match up well. We’re going to have to do some things to help us,” Brewer said. “You have to make sure they don’t beat you with the throws underneath and turn short gains into long ones. You have to make tackles and get them running from sideline to sideline.”

WC is breaking in a passing game of its own. Quarterback Keaton Sanders was 9-for-20 for 75 yards against South Panola, attempting nearly a third as many passes in one game as he did all of last season. While his numbers weren’t eye-popping, Brewer did praise his decision-making and pointed out that there were no turnovers.

“We spread it out, threw it a little more. That was a pretty strong defensive front and Keaton didn’t panic. He took what he had to take,” Brewer said.

While the Vikings try to find a scheme to slow down Vicksburg, and another to ramp up their own offense, they’ll continue to rely on what worked against South Panola — solid special teams, sound fundamentals and raw emotion.

After all, even if it’s no longer the season-ending Warren County Super Bowl of years past, this week is still about bragging rights. Still about playing your friends, neighbors and relatives. Still about continuing a tradition.

It’s still Vicksburg.

“This game means more to us than anything,” WC linebacker R.W. Comans said. “They don’t have to hype us up for Vicksburg because we know what kind of game it is.”