NonePublished 3:45 pm Thursday, December 26, 2024 By Ernest Bowker Warren Central's Josh Morgan is the 2024 Vicksburg Post football Coach of the Year in Warren County. Morgan led the Vikings to a 9-4 record, the MHSAA Region 2-6A championship, and the Class 6A semifinals. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Warren Central’s Josh Morgan earned The Vicksburg Post’s Warren County Coach of the Year award for the eighth time in 15 seasons. He has a 111-70 career record. (Walter Frazier/For The Vicksburg Post) Warren Central's Josh Morgan is the 2024 Vicksburg Post football Coach of the Year in Warren County. Morgan led the Vikings to a 9-4 record, the MHSAA Region 2-6A championship, and the Class 6A semifinals. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) In a football season full of good things, one of the best that happened to Warren Central might have been a humiliating defeat. A mistake-filled loss to Clinton in their opener served as an eye-opener for the Vikings. They went back to work and made the necessary adjustments to ensure it didn’t happen again — and it rarely did. A seven-game winning streak brought home the MHSAA Region 2-6A championship and a trip to the Class 6A semifinals. It also earned the man steering the ship, Josh Morgan, The Vicksburg Post’s Warren County Coach of the Year award. Morgan earned the honor for the eighth time in his 15 seasons on Highway 27, but deflected credit to his entire coaching staff and players for the long-term success. “We’ve got a great staff. The thing about our staff is all of us are aligned. We are all pulling in the same direction and it makes all the difference in the world,” Morgan said. “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit. Everybody understands their role, how we all align, and our goals and how we do things. Our coaches are top-notch. Our kids around here are mighty lucky to have them.” The Vikings were riding high heading into their season opener against Clinton in the Red Carpet Bowl in August. They’d won the Region 2-6A title in 2023 and had most of a talented roster returning. That good feeling evaporated quickly. Warren Central lost three fumbles, failed to score on three drives inside the 5-yard line, allowed a long touchdown run, and had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown in a 26-20 loss that forced them to take a hard look in the mirror. “In football games, you don’t play well and you lose some. What we try to focus on is how we respond, and we chose to get better from it. We had hard conversations, hard coaching, and the players knew that they could do better and we could be better,” Morgan said. “But I thought that we did that after every loss. I thought we were able to find a way to get better, and use this to get better, and be mature enough to not point fingers and to take blame and ownership, and move forward and get better,” he continued. “This team did a really good job of that, being mentally tough and finding ways to get better.” The Vikings took two more non-region losses to Class 7A powers Madison Central and Brandon — both of those teams reached the state semifinals — then found their groove when they got to pick on people their own size. They allowed a total of 32 points in their five region games, while at the same time the offense steadily improved. The Vikings won their second consecutive Region 2-6A championship , with four of their five league games decided by at least 12 points. At one point, Warren Central went 12 quarters without allowing a touchdown. “The thing about this team was, I thought we got better all the way up to the very end,” Morgan said. “I think about when we went up to Columbus and just had to handle business, and we did that. We really hit another gear after the Neshoba game. We really got things going in the right direction and being more consistent. A lot of that credit goes to our coaches, but also our players.” A first-round win over Saltillo — Warren Central’s first postseason shutout since 1994 — came next, and then a 21-3 victory over South Panola that sent the Vikings to the semifinal round of the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Warren Central had been to the playoffs 25 times in the past 30 years, but kept running into a wall in the second round. It reached that level 11 times, including eight of the previous 10 seasons, without breaking through. Finally, they played their best game at the best time. “When we were hitting the second round we were coming into our own and played our best game of the year against a really good opponent,” Morgan said. “It was really good to see us get over that hump. The biggest thing was watching our kids get to experience that kind of environment and come out and be successful.” The magical season ended with a 23-10 loss to Grenada in the North State championship game. Grenada blew out Hattiesburg 43-14 the following week to win its first state championship. It was a tough finish for the Vikings, but after a couple of weeks to reflect it didn’t diminish a great season. Warren Central won back-to-back region championships for the first time since 2003-04 and, with a 9-4 record, won nine games or more for the fourth time in five seasons. It all further cemented Warren Central’s status as one of Mississippi’s top high school football programs. “Had a good year. Did some really good things,” Morgan said. “I’m really proud of our coaches, really proud of our players, because we put a lot into it. A lot of hard work. I was glad to see them have a successful year and be able to accomplish those things.” Vicksburg Post Coaches of the Year 2024 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2023 – Blake Purvis, Porters Chapel 2022 – Todd McDaniel, Vicksburg 2021 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2020 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2019 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2018 – Michael Fields, St. Aloysius 2017 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2016 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2015 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2014 – B.J. Smithhart, St. Aloysius 2013 – Tavares Johnson, Vicksburg 2012 – Josh Morgan, Warren Central 2011 – Alonzo Stevens, Vicksburg 2010 – Todd Montgomery, Central Hinds 2009 – Curtis Brewer, Warren Central 2008 – B.J. Smithhart, St. Aloysius 2007 – Randy Wright, Porters Chapel 2006 – Jim Taylor, St. Aloysius 2005 – Randy Wright, Porters Chapel 2004 – Randy Wright, Porters Chapel 2003 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 2002 – Jim Taylor, St. Aloysius 2001 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 2000 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1999 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1998 – J.J. Plummer, Porters Chapel 1997 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1996 – Bubba Booth, St. Aloysius 1995 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1994 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1993 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1992 – Bubba Booth, St. Aloysius 1991 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1990 – James Knox, Vicksburg 1989 – James Knox, Vicksburg 1988 – Robert Morgan, Warren Central 1987 – Joe Edwards, St. Aloysius Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.
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ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF coach Gus Malzahn is resigning after four seasons with the school. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the move, which will see Malzahn to leave to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Malzahn previously worked with FSU coach Mike Norvell during their time at Tulsa under then-coach Todd Graham from 2007-08. The Knights ended a disappointing 4-8 season in which they lost eight of their last nine games, the longest losing streak since 2015. Malzahn, 59, was in the fourth year of a contract through 2028. His buyout, it is reported, would have been $13.75 million. He finished 27-25 at UCF but lost 16 of his last 22 games and was a dismal 4-14 in two seasons in the Big 12. After back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2021-22, the Knights went 6-7 in 2023 and 4-8 in 2024. People are also reading... Former senior administrator at Tulsa Public Schools sentenced to prison Pagan prayer before Tulsa City Council meeting riles up Gov. 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McAlester football coach Forrest Mazey faces criminal misdemeanor charges OU’s upset of Alabama prompts epic tirade from Paul Finebaum Show caller 'Legend' Bill Haisten: At TU, an urgency to score a fast hire and a greater urgency to get it right Mayor-elect Monroe Nichols names Tulsa police major as public safety commissioner Bill Haisten: ‘Hungrier than ever’ Mike Gundy says, ‘I ain’t going out this way’ OU football bowl projections: After beating Alabama, where might Sooners land in postseason? Berry Tramel: Extreme makeover needed for OSU football after thrashing by Colorado This season started with high expectations as Malzahn made sweeping changes to the program. He retooled the strength and conditioning department and hired Ted Roof and Tim Harris Jr. as defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively. He also added nearly 50 new players to the roster, leaning heavily on the transfer market. UCF started by winning its first three games against New Hampshire, Sam Houston and a thrilling comeback at TCU, but offensive struggles saw the Knights tumble through a TBD-game losing streak to finish the season. Terry Mohajir hired Malzahn on Feb. 15, 2021, six days after he was hired to replace Danny White. The move came eight weeks after Malzahn had been fired at Auburn after eight seasons of coaching the Tigers. The two briefly worked together at Arkansas State in 2012 before Malzahn left for the Auburn job. “When he [Mohajir] offered the job, I was like, ‘I’m in.’ There wasn’t thinking about or talking about ...,” Malzahn said during his introductory press conference. “This will be one of the best programs in college football in a short time. This is a job that I plan on being here and building it.” UCF opened the 2021 season with non-conference wins over Boise State and Bethune-Cookman before traveling to Louisville on Sept. 17, where quarterback Dillon Gabriel suffered a fractured collarbone in the final minute of a 42-35 loss. Backup Mikey Keene would finish out the season as Gabriel announced his intention to transfer. The Knights would finish the season on the plus side by accepting a bid to join the Big 12 Conference in September and then by defeating Florida 29-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl. Malzahn struck transfer portal gold in the offseason when he signed former Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. Plumlee, a two-sport star with the Rebels, helped guide UCF to the American Athletic Conference Championship in its final season. However, Plumlee’s injury forced the Knights to go with Keene and freshman Thomas Castellanos. The team finished with losses to Tulane in the conference championship and Duke in the Military Bowl. Plumlee would return in 2023 as UCF transitioned to the Big 12 but would go down with a knee injury in the final minute of the Knights’ 18-16 win at Boise State on Sept. 9. He would miss the next four games as backup Timmy McClain took over the team. Even on his return, Plumlee couldn’t help UCF, on a five-game losing streak to open conference play. The Knights got their first Big 12 win at Cincinnati on Nov. 4 and upset No. 15 Oklahoma State the following week, but the team still needed a win over Houston in the regular-season finale to secure a bowl bid for the eighth straight season. From the moment Malzahn stepped on campus, he prioritized recruiting, particularly in Central Florida. “We’re going to recruit like our hair’s on fire,” Malzahn said at the time. “We’re going to go after the best players in America and we’re not backing down to anybody.” From 2007 to 2020, UCF signed 10 four-star high school and junior college prospects. Eight four-star prospects were in the three recruiting classes signed under Malzahn. The 2024 recruiting class earned a composite ranking of 39 from 247Sports, the highest-ranked class in school history. The 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 41 and has commitments from three four-star prospects. Malzahn has always leaned on the transfer market, signing 60 players over the past three seasons. Some have paid huge dividends, such as Javon Baker, Lee Hunter, Kobe Hudson, Tylan Grable, Bula Schmidt, Amari Kight, Marcellus Marshall, Trent Whittemore, Gage King, Ethan Barr, Deshawn Pace and Plumlee. Others haven’t been as successful, such as quarterback KJ Jefferson, who started the first five games of this season before being benched for poor performance. Jefferson’s struggles forced the Knights to play musical chairs at quarterback, with true freshman EJ Colson, redshirt sophomore Jacurri Brown and redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk all seeing action at one point or another this season. This season’s struggles led to several players utilizing the NCAA’s redshirt rule after four games, including starting slot receiver Xavier Townsend and kicker Colton Boomer, who have also entered the transfer portal. Defensive end Kaven Call posted a letter to Malzahn on Twitter in which he accused the UCF coaching staff of recently kicking him off the team when he requested to be redshirted.