Warren Central dealt with the dreaded sandwich game situation by chewing up and spitting out Murrah on Friday night.

Joe Shorter scored three touchdowns, and six players scored in all as Warren Central hammered Murrah 60-6 at Newell Field in Jackson. The Vikings bounced back from their first loss of the season with a big win, and then cast an eye toward next week’s showdown with top-ranked Clinton.

“We played pretty good. Executed like we wanted to. I don’t think the starters played the whole second half, and when the twos got in they did really well,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said. “We had a good week and got what we needed out of this.”

After punting on their first possession, the Vikings (7-1, 3-1 Region 2-6A) didn’t do it again for a while. Shorter scored three times in the first half and quarterback Jesse Wilson added another touchdown on the ground. Shane Lewis kicked a 36-yard field goal to put Warren Central ahead 30-0 at halftime.

Backups Josh Brandon, Lamar Gray and F.J. Barnum each ran for a touchdown in the second half. Jalen Allen recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone for another. Murrah (2-6, 0-3) didn’t get into the end zone until the final minute of the game.

“It was a really big team effort, and that’s what we wanted to see in all three phases of the game,” Morgan said.

Up next for WC is a home date with Clinton (8-0, 4-0), which remained undefeated by beating Northwest Rankin 56-48 on Friday. The Arrows are the No. 1 team in the state and have the No. 1 player in quarterback Cam Akers.

The winner between the Vikings and Arrows will have the inside track TO the Region 2-6A title — which is what Morgan said his team needs to focus on amidst what is sure to be a week of hype and attention.

“It’s a big game for us because we’re still trying to be playoff-eligible,” Morgan said. “We need to win as many as we can, because it’s going to come down to tiebreakers and all that.”