Tim Jones is quickly becoming the man for Warren Central.

Jones scored four touchdowns, three rushing and one on a 60-yard interception return to lead the Vikings to an impressive 34-13 win over Lawrence County, which came in No. 6 in Class 4A.

Coming into the season, Jones’ primary role was at safety. With an opening week injury to expected tailback Shon Jackson, Jones had running back added to his duties. He has filled in nicely, scoring on runs of 5, 2 and 23 yards and finished with 154 yards on 20 carries.

“I haven’t been a tailback since ninth grade but I had to step up to the plate,” Jones said.

Running behind a revamped offensive line, Jones helped power the Vikings to a 20-0 lead just seconds into the second quarter. He then helped put the contest away with a 23-yard TD run and then with a 60-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

“The interception was my first one. Nice, 60-yard sprint,” Jones said of the play.

As for the Viking offense, Jones said it begins up front.

“Those guys are playing with a lot of determination and heart,” Jones said.

As a team, Warren Central rolled up 261 yards rushing and 333 yards in total offense.

“They just lined up and gave us an old-fashion tail whuppin,’” said Lawrence County coach Mike David. “We just could not match up with their personnel up front. They have some big guys up front.”

WC coach Curtis Brewer was glad to see his team enjoy a victory over a well-regarded team.

“Lawrence County is a first-class school and we’re glad to have them on our schedule,” Brewer said. “But what we needed tonight was to have some success. We emphasized to our team that our seniors have to show our younger guys how to work and how to fight to win. We took a step forward with that goal tonight.”

The Vikings needed less than two minutes to get on the board. Jones ripped off a 45-yard run to set up Beau Wallace’s 27-yard TD pass to Patrick Taylor. Devon Bell followed with the first of four PAT kicks.

Jones got his first score on a 5-yard run to cap a 12-play, 66-yard drive. After a Cougar fumble, he scored from the 2 to finish a 22-yard scoring march and give WC a 20-0 lead.

Lawrence County (1-1) came back with a 5-yard TD run by Mathew Wells with 24 seconds to go in the half. Trevor Havis added the kick to make it 20-7. Wells had just 23 yards in the game.

The Cougars opened the second half with a time-consuming, 15-play drive that reached the Viking 10. But on fourth down, Alexander Montgomery was stopped a yard short and the Cougars had to turn it over on downs.

Following an exchange of punts, WC put the game away with a 48-yard drive capped by Jones’ 23-run. Bell’s kick made it 27-7 with 5:24 to play.

Jones then stepped in front of an Adam Watson pass and returned it 60 yards with 3:08 left. Havis ended the scoring, returning the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to make it 34-13.

Briarfield 32,

Deer Creek 6

Jacob Hopkins ran for three touchdowns as Briarfield (2-0) won handily in Greenville. Hopkins scored from 1, 4 and 34 yards while Wily Brown added a 4-yard TD run as the Rebels built a 20-0 lead.

Briarfield piled up 314 yards rushing.

Hinds AHS 15,

Port Gibson 13

Javonte Robinson’s two touchdowns and a two-point conversion was enough for the War Dawgs to slip past Port Gibson Friday night in Port Gibson. Robinson scored on runs of 50 and 25 yards. His two-point conversion in the third quarter provided Hinds with its winning margin and evened its season record at 1-1. Port Gibson (1-1) got scores from Rudy Wilson and Johnny Hubbard. Wilson ran for 87 yards on 16 carries to lead the Blue Waves. As a team, the Waves had 153 yards rushing and Jadarius Grigsby was 4-for-9 passing.

C. Hinds 36,

G’ville Christ. 0

The Cougars cruised to 2-0 with a win at Greenville Christian. CHA led 13-0 at the half and then scored 17 points in the third quarter to go up 30-0.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com