Lester Miller puts on a show as No. 1 Brandon beats No. 6 Warren Central 21-3
VICKSBURG — Don’t be surprised to see the want ad in the Vicksburg Post Monday morning: “Needed: At least two good men to cover Lester Miller.”
Top-ranked Brandon’s leading receiver and the Bulldog defense put on a show Friday night, defeating previously unbeaten Warren Central 21-3 to pick up a huge win in Region 3.
“The standard for excellence at Brandon has been on defense,” Bulldog coach Sam Williams said. “That’s what we expect week-in and week-out from those guys.”
The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 in Region 3-6A) held Warren Central to a field goal on the Vikings’ opening possession, then stymied them for the rest of the night.
Miller provided the offensive fireworks.
On Brandon’s second possession of the game, he caught a 39-yard pass on a 3rd-and-27 to set up Nate Blount’s two-yard dive that gave the Bulldogs a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter.
On the very next possession, Brandon quarterback Landon Varnes hit Miller in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown pass on 4th-and-goal from the 15-yard line to put Brandon ahead 14-3.
He wasn’t done yet — just before the half and with Brandon in the two-minute offense, Varnes heaved a pass down the visiting sideline and Miller beat three Warren Central defenders for the jump ball and a 41-yard gain.
On the very next play, Varnes found Miller again for a six-yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs ahead 21-3 going into the break.
“It was big,” Miller said. “We weren’t rolling as much, but we got a little momentum there (at the end of the first half) and rode it to end of the game.”
Warren Central kept the Bulldogs off the board in the second half, but the damage was done.
Miller finished the night with eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s a dude,” Williams said. “I’ve been telling people, I think he’s the most explosive receiver in the state. If you single cover him, you’re going to have a tough time, especially on those deep balls. It’s three routes, and you can’t cover all three of them.”
The loss was a tough one for Warren Central, which came into Friday’s game ranked sixth in the SB Live Super 10 and riding high after knocking off Oak Grove on the road the week before.
The Vikings (4-1, 1-1 in Region 3-6A) got the ball six times after their game-opening field goal. Those six possessions ended with three turnovers on downs (including one at the Bulldogs’ four-yard line), an interception in the end zone and two punts.
“That’s a really good football team over there,” Warren Central coach Josh Morgan said, pointing to the Brandon sideline. “I thought we did some nice things offensively, but we just couldn’t finish drives. And you have to do that against a team like that."
