There’s no such thing as a moral victory for Warren Central this season.

The Vikings are just too good to celebrate close losses, and it showed in their attitude after Friday’s 27-17 defeat at the hands of No. 1 Starkville.

After jumping out to a 17-0 lead on the Yellow Jackets and controlling the game for nearly three quarters, WC let its comfortable lead slip away. When the two teams walked off the field, Warren Central wasn’t patting itself on the back with a participation medal.

“Our team came up here to win,” coach Josh Morgan said. “We harped on that all week. We weren’t coming here to play them as close as we could or play it safe and try to hang with them. We came out here to win, and we had every intention of winning.”

But there’s usually a silver lining to find in a loss, and this one seemed too bright to ignore or deem irrelevant.

The way Morgan’s squad played for most of the matchup should ease the worry of he and his players as they prepare for postseason play after this week, despite a sudden two-game losing streak and the prospect of a must-win game this Friday at home against Columbus (4-6, 3-3 Region 2-6A).

Warren Central (8-2, 4-2) has clinched a playoff berth, but needs to win in the regular-season finale to secure the No. 3 seed in Region 2-6A and avoid a first-round playoff game at No. 2 South Panola (10-0). If Warren Central finishes third, it’ll go on the road to play Southaven (8-2) in the first round.

If Columbus beats WC, it’ll earn the third seed. Columbus could also be knocked out of the playoffs with a loss and a Northwest Rankin win over Murrah on Friday.

WC held Starkville’s high-powered spread offense to just 242 yards. That’s the Jackets’ second-lowest total of the season and 149 yards worse than their 391-yard average.

Quarterback Brady Davis struggled against the cold, windy elements and WC’s swarming defense. The Vikings largely made Davis a non-factor until the end of the third quarter. The senior was held to 11-of-23 passing for 129 yards, but did toss four touchdown passes to lead Starkville’s comeback.

It was also Starkville’s lowest margin of victory of the season and the first real scare it has experienced.

Knowing that the Vikings can step up and exchange blows with the best team in Mississippi, on the road, is a confidence boost to a team that didn’t lack any in the first place.

“We played a really good football game. I think we got better as a football team. There’s no doubt about it,” Morgan said. That’s the No.1 football team in the state, and rightfully so.”

Warren Central isn’t going to accept pretty close. The Vikings are above that this year. But Friday’s pretty good was good enough to beat a majority of the teams standing in their way during the playoffs, and it’s an encouraging sign moving forward to Morgan and his ballclub.

“We’re going to harp on preparing like we did this week and focusing,” he said. “We slipped a little bit this week but we’re going to re-grip and keep climbing that rope and get better.”

On the radio

Friday, 7 p.m., 105.5 FM

Columbus at Warren Central