After Warren Central upset Vicksburg for the first time in eight years Dec. 6, the players left the gym in separate lines heading in different directions. The same could be said for both teams, which took remarkably different paths after that Saturday afternoon.

Vicksburg didn’t feel sorry for itself in defeat. The Gators reeled off four straight wins before running into the buzzsaw that is Malik Newman and his Callaway team. VHS assistant coach Troy Stewart is hoping his team will take on a similar mentality after its most recent loss to Warren Central Saturday as it prepares for a Region 4-5A game Friday night against Pearl.

The Gators were without head coach Dellie C. Robinson for the Warren Central game as he attended his father’s funeral in McComb, and Stewart said he’s looking forward to getting the team reunited with its leader in time for the most important stretch in the schedule.

Five of the Gators’ next seven games are against division opponents.

“We’ve got district play upcoming, so what I try to do for the guys right now is wait for Coach Rob to get back and put this game in perspective for us,” Stewart said. “(The Warren Central game) does not have any bearing on our district play, therefore we’re just trying to make it.”

Vicksburg is hoping its current two-game skid will be halted Tuesday when it goes on the road to face South Delta. The Gators are treating that game as a tune-up before taking on a 13-3 Pearl team that has played well this season.

“We wanted to win, get off this slide since we’re 0-2 for 2015,” Stewart said. “We’ve just got to get prepared for Pearl.”

The Vikings, on the other hand, fell completely off the map after their big win in December. They lost five out of seven games, including two by one point and another in double overtime. It’s a slide Warren Central coach Bruce Robinson hopes to avoid a repeat of when his team matches up with Clinton at home Tuesday in a pivotal Region 4-6A contest.

“We’ve got to get back in the gym. We’ve got Clinton on Tuesday in a huge district game. It’s a home game. We can’t really afford to have a letdown,” Robinson said. “We can’t have a letdown. We’ve got to get ready for Clinton.”

Robinson believes his team might have enjoyed the taste of a rare victory over the Gators so much in December that it affected its play well after the final buzzer sounded. If he has anything to say about it, this time around will be much different.

“We’ve got to get back in the gym,” Robinson said. “We’re going to enjoy this win, but we’ll get back in and start working on district because our district is really tough.”