VIDALIA, La., – When the Vikings opened their season with a home loss to Natchez, senior Jarvis Vaughn decided his last year at Vidalia would not start out 0-2.

Vaughn scored 50 points in the Vikings’ next game, a 119-54 shellacking of Davidson. Vaughn was held to a mere double-double in his next game, with 25 points, 13 boards and 5 steals helping the Vikings to a 56-50 win over then-unbeaten Sicily Island.

&uot;We’re playing better now as a team,&uot; Jarvis said of the last two games. &uot;We’re a young team. We don’t have many seniors.&uot;

In fact, Vaughn and Kenny Warner shoulder the bulk of the team’s leadership load as the only seniors on the court, a responsibility Vaughn takes seriously.

&uot;(As a senior) you have to be a leader and a coach, both on and off the court,&uot; he said. &uot;You have to keep all the players in check and make sure they don’t get in trouble in or out of school.&uot;

Leadership is exactly what Vidalia coach Robert Sanders wants out of Vaughn, he said. &uot;I want him to continue to do the things that got him to this point,&uot; he said.

And although the 6-foot-4, 170-pound, four-year starter can play all five positions, Sanders said, Vaughn’s competitive nature is his greatest attribute on the court.

&uot;He’s a competitor,&uot; Sanders said. &uot;He has a passion for the game. I like that.&uot;

&uot;I love competition,&uot; Vaughn said. &uot;If somebody thinks they’re better than I am on the court, I want to play them.&uot;

Vaughn hopes to bring his competitive nature and his considerable game to the next level, he said, and has been recruited by schools like LSU, Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Grambling and Arkansas.

&uot;But I’ve got to work on my ACT scores, first,&uot; he said.

Despite his athletic abilities, Vaughn said he doesn’t want to be known only for his accomplishments in basketball.

&uot;I want everybody to remember me as a good person on and off the court,&uot; he said. &uot;I do more than just play basketball. I want to be known as an all-around person.&uot;