Football | 8/29/2026 7:07:00 AM

VICKSBURG -- The Clinton High School football team dropped its season opener to non-region rival Warren Central, 35-24, on Friday night at Viking Stadium after a second-half surge by the Vikings.

Clinton raced out to a 24-7 halftime advantage behind two rushing touchdowns by Jayden Jones, a nine-yard fumble recovery and return for touchdown by Sean Riddley, and a 29-yard field goal from Brayden Gough just before intermission.

Warren Central erased the 17-point deficit in the third quarter behind three rushing touchdowns from Nash Morgan. Morgan found the end zone on runs of 12, 1, and 88 yards, giving the Vikings a 28-24 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

Clinton was unable to answer in the final period, and Javid Scott put the game out of reach with a 27-yard touchdown run with 2:07 remaining.

BY THE NUMBERS

Clinton's offense totaled 325 yards, including 179 rushing and 146 passing, while recording 19 first downs.

Jones led the Arrows' rushing attack with  103 yards on 19 carries and touchdown carries of 30 and 1 yards. Braylon Lowery followed with 51 yards on 11 attempts, while Boskey Evans added 31 yards on eight carries.

Jones finished 13-of-28 passing for 146 yards. Dayson Scott led Clinton's receiving corps with four catches for 93 yards. Matthew Fletcher caught two passes for 20 yards, while Ayden Johnson added three receptions for 13 yards.

Defensively, the Arrows forced and recovered two fumbles. Montario Braden recorded one fumble recovery, while Ridley returned the other nine yards for a touchdown.

Christian Smith, Trevion Casnel, and Riddley led the Clinton defense with six total tackles apiece. Dallas Johnson and Malik Jackson followed with five tackles each.

UP NEXT

The Arrows return to action Friday, September 4, traveling to Flowood to take on Northwest Rankin. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.