Warren Central ninth grade wins Little Six Championship

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Warren Central High School’s ninth-grade football team defeated Brandon 40-12 on Monday night to claim the Little Six Championship. Quarterback Cameron Zellous led the Vikings with three total touchdowns.

“Winning back to back makes us feel good because we worked hard and we had to get up early in the morning over the summer and it paid off,” Zellous said.

Doss Morgan contributed on both sides of the ball, scoring multiple 2-point conversions and recording several tackles.

“This makes us feel very accomplished because we played like we really wanted it and we came out on top,” Morgan said.

The Vikings opened the game with a strong ground attack as Braylen Selvy ran for 10 yards, followed by a 15-yard scramble from Zellous. Jordan Taylor added a 17-yard run to move WC deep into Brandon territory.

After a botched punt recovery set up Warren Central at the 12-yard line, Taylor scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. Zellous converted the 2-point attempt to give WC an 8-0 lead.

Brandon responded with a passing drive, but Zellous intercepted a throw and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown. Morgan ran in the conversion to make it 16-0. Patrick Southerland added a tackle for loss as the first quarter ended.

Zellous opened the second quarter with a 62-yard pass to Jarrad Williams, then ran in a 3-yard touchdown. Morgan caught the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 24-0.

Javion McClodden and Morgan combined for a big hit that forced a punt. Moments later, Selvy hauled in a 22-yard catch to set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Zellous to Henry Trisby. Morgan again scored on the conversion to make it 32-0.

Defensively, Juatevious Peters and Cedarius Allen each recorded stops before Trisby returned an interception 42 yards for another score. Selvy added the 2-point conversion to give WC a commanding 40-0 lead.

After halftime, the Vikings continued to dominate defensively, with Rylan Montgomery recording a sack. Brandon eventually broke through with a long touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, but Marcus Cheatteam stopped the 2-point try. Mattox Williams and Allen added a late sack before Brandon scored again on a long pass to make the final 40-12.

The Freshman team is lead by Head Coach Matt Williams.

“We challenged the players in practice to end with a bang,” Williams said. “We wanted to make a statement, and boy did they make one. We knew we could make plays, we just needed to execute and it was awesome to see.”

“When they started back in the spring, we saw glimpses of how talented this entire group is. From #1 to #71, they gave us everything they had when it was time to compete, and that as a coach is all you can ask for. They allowed us to coach them, and be great teammates.”

Matt Brewer and Wayne Lynch are the two assistant coaches.

This year’s championship marks the Vikings’ second consecutive Little Six title after going undefeated as eighth graders last season.