On Oct. 21, a sellout crowd of 7,500 fans watched Warren Central and Clinton duke it out for the inside track to a championship.

Fast forward one month, and nothing has changed.

The Vikings and Arrows will meet again Friday, only with the stakes raised a little bit higher. Instead of a region championship, the teams will be vying for a chance at a state title in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. Another huge, rowdy crowd is expected as the teams play one of the biggest games ever in their long-running rivalry.

“It’s a very big game,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said, in one of the big understatements of the season. “It just so happens it’s two opponents with a storied tradition, and it makes it one of the biggest games of the season. We’re just trying to get to the next round. It would not matter who we’re playing. We’re fighting for our lives, and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is when you’re doing that.”

Warren Central (10-2) opened in 1965, and Clinton (11-1) immediately became its biggest rival in the old Little Dixie Conference. The teams played several conference championship games against each other — the equivalent of state title games before the MHSAA instituted a playoff system in 1981 — and have played in the regular season every year.

This is their first meeting in the postseason, however, since the 1993 Class 5A North State championship game. Warren Central won that game 27-6 to advance to the state championship game, where it lost to South Panola.

More recently, the teams have been stuck toward the middle of the pack in Region 2-6A but still have played some memorable games. Their meetings in 2012, 2014 and 2015 were decided by a total of four points. The teams have split their last 14 meetings, with each winning seven times since 2003. This one is the ultimate tiebreaker.

As the Vikings began their practice week on Monday, Morgan talked to his team about the historic nature of this game — but not how it pertains to Clinton.

Warren Central has not been past the second round of the playoffs since winning the Class 5A championship in 1994. This is already the first time it has won 10 games in consecutive seasons since that 1992-94 run, and the first time it has won a playoff game in consecutive seasons since 2001-02.

Making that kind of history, Morgan told his team, was the real prize awaiting the Vikings if they win.

“We’re excited about being in the second round. Our opponent is one we’ve already played and we were fortunate to have won that game,” Morgan said. “It’s a familiar opponent. Put all of that together and it should make for an exciting matchup with great implications.”

CLINTON AT WARREN CENTRAL
Class 6A playoffs, second round
Admission: $8
Friday, 7 p.m.; Radio: 105.5 FM
Online: For live updates, follow us at twitter.com/vixpostsports and facebook.com/thevicksburgpost