One of the best offensive players in Mississippi was no match for the state’s best defense.

Warren Central shut down Murrah’s Malik Dear and pitched its second shutout of the season Friday night, beating the Mustangs 20-0.

DeArius Christmas intercepted a pass deep in Murrah territory to set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Jesse Wilson picked one off in the end zone in the final seconds to secure the shutout.

“I’m just extremely proud of them. To do what we did against that caliber of offense, there’s a lot to be said for that,” WC coach Josh Morgan said. “We knew we were going to have to be as stingy as we could, and the guys did a great job taking away the big plays.”

The win kept Warren Central (8-0, 4-0 Region 2-6A) undefeated halfway through a tough October schedule. Clinton comes to Viking Stadium next week, and a trip to top-ranked Starkville follows that. Warren Central is 8-0 for the first time since its 1994 state championship season.

Nick Wright kicked two field goals for the Vikings, and Jeremy Lewis ran for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Lewis scored on a 10-yard run in the second quarter, then tacked on an 11-yarder with 3:06 left in the game.

Lewis was a fill-in as the Vikings’ featured back, stepping into the lineup for leading rusher D.J. Knight. Knight injured his shoulder against Madison Central.

“(Lewis) did an outstanding job,” Morgan said. “He was ready to play and had a good week, and to be able to do that against a very good defensive ballclub was great.”

Murrah (6-3, 1-3) was shut out for the first time since 2010. Dear, a Mississippi State-bound senior who has more than 5,700 total yards in his high school career, failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season.

It was only the third time in the last three years that Dear did not find the end zone. Two of those games have been against Warren Central.

“We didn’t change anything we do. We didn’t put an extra man on him or anything like that,” Morgan said. “We played team defense and did a good job running to the football and taking the right angles.”