Warren Central holds off Germantown in high-scoring home opener

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Warren Central High School won its home opener Friday, outlasting Germantown 52-41 in a high-scoring battle.

Quarterback Nash Morgan rushed for more than 100 yards, scored three touchdowns on the ground and threw another. He also connected early on a 68-yard touchdown pass to Mike Hall on the first play of the game, and kicker Jonah Artman added the extra point. Morgan’s offensive line consisted of Carmelo Clark, Kemariyun Coffie, Marquise Overton, Patrick Bowman and Daniel Pitzer who all had standout performances.

“It took every bit of what we did to win and it was a good team win,” Morgan said. “We knew we couldn’t be soft and we had to bring the hammer.”

The Vikings’ defense made key plays throughout the night. Crishun Brown recorded two sacks, while Jamari Gaines, T’Kylan Wright, and Micah Moore each had a big stop in the backfield to stall Germantown drives. Ke’Anthony Wynn also picked up some key yards on the ground for WC.

Head coach Josh Morgan praised his team’s overall effort.

“I’m proud of it and our first half we started really well,” Morgan said. “I thought we played extremely hard and our offensive line played really well all night long, but it was a complete team win.”

Sophomore running back Javid Scott scored on a 3-yard run, and Morgan added another touchdown run to make it 21-0 in the first half. Jonas Green recovered a fumble on the kickoff, leading to Xavier Jackson’s 7-yard touchdown run and a 28-0 lead.

Germantown answered with a touchdown before halftime and added two more to start the third quarter, closing the gap to 28-21. But Morgan broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run after breaking two tackles and shaking a defender. Blake Caruthers added a 57-yard punt return score to push the lead back to 42-21.

The Mavericks kept fighting with a pair of late touchdowns, but Morgan responded again with a 47-yard scoring run. Artman sealed the victory with a 42-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Warren Central improved to 2-1 and will host crosstown rival Vicksburg High on Friday.

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

WC – 68 yd pass, Nash Morgan to Mike Hall (Artman kick), 7-0

WC – 3 yd run, Javid Scott (Artman kick), 14-0

Second Quarter

WC – 9 yd run, Nash Morgan (Artman kick), 21-0

WC – 7 yd run, Xavier Jackson (Artman kick), 28-0

GHS – 14 yd pass, Lawson Branson (kick good), 28-7

Third Quarter

GHS – 3 yd run, King White (kick good), 28-14

GHS – 7 yd run, King White (kick good), 28-21

WC – 59 yd run, Nash Morgan (Artman kick), 35-21

WC – 57 yd punt return, Blake Caruthers (Artman kick), 42-21

Fourth Quarter

GHS – 19 yd pass, White to Coleman (kick good), 42-28

WC – 45 yd run, Nash Morgan (Artman kick), 45-28

GHS – 17 yd pass, White to Coleman (kick good), 45-35

WC – 41 yd FG, Jonah Artman, 52-35

GHS – 13 yd pass, White to Lawson Branson (XP no good), 52-41