6A Playoffs: Jack Wright, Brandon Gilliam lead Warren Central past D'Iberville

D’IBERVILLE -- Warren Central quarterback Jack Wright threw for 172 yards and Brandon Gilliam kicked three field goals, two over 40 yards, to lead Warren Central to a 30-20 Class 6A first round playoff win over No. 8 D’Iberville Friday night.

Only second-ranked Ocean Springs' 54-28 win over Pearl prevented a Region 3-6A sweep over Region 4 with Oak Grove beating Gulfport 33-7 and Brandon beating Harrison Central 39-13. Ocean Springs (11-0) will host Oak Grove (10-2) next Friday night. 

With D’Iberville (10-2) leading 14-13 early in the third quarter and facing a 4th-&-3 from its own 40, Warren Central forced an incomplete pass to take over on downs on a short field.

Wright connected with Trey Hall for a 6 yard gain and Preston Lynch for a 22-yard strike to move the Viking offense to the Warriors' 12-yard line. Tim Thompson did the rest, powering in from the 1 on his third carry in a row. Wright called his own number on the two-point play to give the Vikings a 21-14 lead with 7:30 left in the third quarter.

“That was a big play,” said Warren Central coach Josh Morgan. “We wanted to get something going in the second half. The short field gave us momentum and we held it for the rest of the game.”

D’Iberville came back on one of the few mistakes Wright made on the night, with George Marion intercepting a pass at the Vikings 30 and returning it to the 15. Drey Lenior capped the four-play D’Iberville drive, lowering his shoulder to get in from the 3-yard line to tie the game at 21-21 with 11:51 left.

Jaylon Trisby returned momentum back to the Vikings, returning the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the Warriors' 28. Although Warren Central’s drive stalled at the D’Iberville 26, Gilliam put the Vikings back on top, 24-21, with a booming 43-yard field goal — his second 40-plus yard kick of the game — that would have been good from well over 50 yards.

Like his first 40-yarder — a 46 yard kick in the first half — Gilliam had to delay his motion until Bo Broome was able to pick the snap off the ground and set it for the kick.

Gilliam said that bad snaps could throw the entire kicking routine off, “I trust Bo to get the ball in place. Those kicks give me a lot more confidence than I had.”

Gilliam said the 46-yard field goal was the longest of his career, although he said he could hit the ball accurately from 60 yards out.

For Morgan, Gilliam gives the Vikings one more weapon. “He’s a game changer,” Morgan said. “He’s going to be very important as we go deeper in the playoffs. We know that we will be ending drives in points.”

Morgan said Gilliam’s kickoffs put teams deep, as six of his seven kickoffs Friday went into the end zone. “There is a world of difference between forcing teams to drive 80 yards because he kicks the ball into the endzone and having a team start from the 35 or 40.”

The Vikings sealed the game midway through the fourth quarter when D’Iberville lost a fumble at midfield. While Thompson had trouble getting going earlier in the game, he took over in the drive for the Vikings, carrying the ball five times for 34 yards. Mark Gray capped the drive with a seven-yard drive to give the Vikings a 30-21 lead with 2:21 left to play.

Although the Vikings would prevail in the end, it took them a while to get going. 

Wright said he came into the game a little nervous and that showed as he completed only two of his first six passes, although three passes were dropped. However, with seven minutes left in the first quarter and after D’Iberville capitalized on his fumble for a 50-yard touchdown run, Wright hit Trisby for a 63-yard strike to the D’Iberville 1.

“That gave us a lot of momentum and, in football, momentum is everything,” Wright said. The play also helped him settle down. “When you start doing something good, you start feeling good about yourself.”

Tim Thompson took the ball in from the one-yard line to tie the game at 7-7. Wright, after missing on four of his first six passes, hit eight of his next nine passes for 140 yards.

Wright finished the game hitting 13-of-19 passes. Lynch caught four passes for 41 yards. Hall added six catches for 37 yards and 24 yards rushing on seven carries. After a slow start, Thompson ran for 56 yards on two scores on 15 carries and caught two passes for 16 yards. Floyd Davenport led the Vikings defense with seven stops.

Gage Peterson led D’Iberville with 11-of-19 passing for 117 yards including 25-yard scoring strike to Caleb Williams. Colton DeShazo caught four passes for 38 yards and added 26 yards on eight carries. Lenior added 75 yards on 12 carries and caught three passes 26 yards. Williams had two passes for 38 yards.

Marion led the Warriors defense with six stops and set up two of D’Iberville’s touchdowns. A strip sack of Wright in the first quarter led to Lehman Reed’s 50 yard return for a touchdown. His interception late in the fourth quarter led to Lenior’s 3 yard scoring run.