All season long, Warren Central has lived by a simple mantra: no matter what it takes, just find a way.
On Friday night, the Vikings did it once more — and this time, the reward was a milestone three decades in the making.
Warren Central survived a wild offensive shootout, a heart-stopping finish and a dozen emotional swings to defeat Ridgeland 45–42 in the MHSAA Class 6A North State championship game. The victory sends the Vikings (11–2) to their first state title appearance since 1994 and their first under head coach Josh Morgan.
The Vikings will face Hattiesburg (11–2) on Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville. Hattiesburg advanced with a 47–27 win over Picayune in the South State final.
“This is a team game — the greatest team game there is — and we picked each other up in different areas,” Morgan said. “This is not about us. It’s about our community, and we want to make them proud.”
A Historic Night of Offense
The game featured 956 combined yards of offense — 828 of them on the ground — just one punt, a successful onside kick, and six touchdowns of 30 yards or more in the second half alone.
Quarterback Nash Morgan delivered one of the best performances of his career, rushing for 225 yards and three touchdowns while completing 9 of 10 passes for 100 yards and another score. His fingerprints were on nearly every key moment.
The Vikings opened with a balanced, punishing drive: Morgan rushed for 17 yards, Javid Scott added a 12-yard gain and Blake Caruthers hauled in a 20-yard pass. Morgan capped it with an 11-yard touchdown run and Jonah Artman’s PAT made it 7–0.
Ridgeland matched early, tying the game on a 1-yard sneak by quarterback D.K. Wallace, who would go on to rush for 203 yards and three touchdowns in a brilliant effort.
Warren Central responded with a 29-yard run by Morgan and a 15-yard touchdown pass to Layton Lee. Early in the second quarter, Morgan connected with his younger brother Doss Morgan and later tore off a 37-yard run before Scott scored from eight yards out to make it 21–7.
Ridgeland answered late in the half, but Artman drilled a 47-yard field goal before the break. Samuel Ross and Jamari Gaines each recorded first-half sacks.
A Second-Half Shootout
The third quarter turned into an exchange of haymakers.
Wallace opened with a 50-yard touchdown. Xavier Jackson countered with a 53-yard sprint to the end zone. Ridgeland struck again with a 50-yard run by Ashton Gorden, trimming the gap to 31–28.
Morgan then found Lee on a 20-yard strike and scored on a 12-yard run to stretch the lead to 38–28. Gorden answered with a 34-yard score, making it 38–35 entering the fourth quarter.
Ridgeland recovered an onside kick to start the final period, and Wallace’s 31-yard touchdown run gave the Titans their first lead at 42–38. But Morgan answered immediately, breaking loose for a 36-yard touchdown — his fourth of the night — to give WC a 45–42 lead with just over six minutes remaining.
The Final Stand
Warren Central forced a turnover on downs with 6:18 left but nearly saw the game slip away when Morgan lost the ball reaching for the goal line on what would have been the clinching score. Ridgeland recovered in the end zone for a touchback with two minutes left — the only WC possession all night that didn’t end with points.
“I was trying to reach out and score and he hit my wrist and it came out. I’m pretty sure I scored,” Morgan said. “It sucks, because if they do go score it’s on me. They (the defense) saved my tail, is what they did.”
Ridgeland mounted one last drive. Wallace ran twice and completed a pass to cross midfield with 20 seconds left and no timeouts. But after a short third-down run, the Titans scrambled. D.K. Wallace was unaware of the 4th down and spiked the ball to stop the clock. Due to it being the 4th down, that was a forced turnover by downs and the ball would belong to the Vikings.
As the clock hit triple zeroes, Warren Central players and fans exhaled in relief and erupted in celebration — ending a 31-year wait for another shot at a state championship.
“It feels great. We finally pushed through,” junior linebacker Micah Moore said. “We’ve been this close every year. Coach Josh has been telling us for so long that this is the group. All the hard work has paid off.”
“We’ve been so very close,” Morgan said. “This group found ways to get us there. They had to be mentally tough with the back and forth of that game. Ridgeland is a great team. But we’ve been on the cusp for so long, and it’s good to see these guys get this opportunity.”
If you are not able to attend the game in Starkville on Friday night, you can listen LIVE to Brandon Davis and Bob Sullender on V105.5 or www.vicksburgradio.com.
