Before every Warren Central football home game, the scroll of messages on the video board includes a list of the school’s region and state championships.

When the Vikings host Neshoba Central on Oct. 25, some of them will get a lot more than a passing mention.

On that night, Warren Central will host the Viking Football Night of Champions. The event is a celebration of 60 years of high school football on Highway 27, and members from several of the school’s championship teams will be honored before the game and at halftime.

Assistant coach Matt Williams, who is helping to organize the event, said the idea came from a confluence of anniversaries. Warren Central’s first football team was fielded in 1965; it won the Little Dixie Conference championship — the equivalent of a state title today — in 1974; and its last MHSAA state championship was in 1994.

Warren Central also won Little Dixie championships in 1973, ‘76, ‘78 and ‘79, before the MHSAA started its current alignment and classification system. In the modern era, it won MHSAA Class 5A championships in 1988 and 1994.

“Sixty years is quite an accomplishment. We looked at it and we really hadn’t done much in the past for our former Vikings,” Williams said. “We can celebrate the ‘94 team for 30 years, and 50 years ago the ‘74 team won the Little Dixie Conference championship. There’s no better time than now to do it. Let all the old players see the coaches before it’s too late.”

Once the idea was hatched, Williams and longtime Warren Central teacher Arlean Smith started putting it all together. More than 200 former players and coaches have RSVP’d so far, and Williams is hoping the number grows as the event draws near.

The former players will be treated to a dinner in Viking Alley, between the football stadium and the school, beginning at 5 p.m. They will be recognized on the field before the game, and the 1974 and 1994 championship teams will be honored at halftime.

Any former players who want to be included in the ceremony can email Williams at mwilliams@vwsd.org. Information is also available on the event’s Facebook page. There is a $20 per person cost to attend, with the proceeds benefiting WC’s football program.

Williams was hopeful the current Vikings can honor their predecessors in one other way ­— by getting a big victory over Neshoba Central that will aid their quest for a second consecutive Region 2-6A title.

“It should be a good night,” Williams said. “We’ve got a good team coming in here to play and it’s a big district game for us. Maybe we’ll have all the old Vikings here to cheer us on.”

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Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com