It must be the shoes.

Warren Central striker Erik Chappell broke in a new pair of electric blue cleats with an electric performance as the Vikings ripped Laurel 4-0 on Saturday.

The sophomore earned the hat trick with three goals to pace the Viking attack.

Chappell did it despite a painful hip pointer that limited his mobility.

“I thought our kids played well,” WC coach Greg Head said. “We’ve got a young striker (Chappell) who is comfortable up top. Our short play was good. We did a good job of working the ball.”

The Vikings (2-2) outshot the Tornadoes 13-6 in the contest.

Defensively, senior keeper Andrew Sandoz earned the shutout in goal, as he made some spectacular saves near the end of the first half, when the Tornadoes (1-5) peppered the box with a flurry of shots.

WC jumped on the board first in the seventh minute, as Chappell took the pass from senior Connor Wolfe and poked it past the corner.

In the 37th minute, Kolby Porter lined up the corner kick and hustled his way back into the play, booting in a rebound to put WC up 2-0 going into the break.

Despite the two-goal advantage, Head was concerned about his team’s offensive poise going into the locker room. Balls that the Vikings won at midfield to set up quick-strike opportunities in the Laurel end of the field evaporated after Chappell left the contest with an ailing hip. Playing mix and match with the lineup, Head knew that continuity would be an issue.

“I thought that at halftime, we were able to get them settled down,” Head said. “Lately, we’ve had to put some people in different positions. We just don’t have a lot of depth.”

Chappell got the offense going just four minutes into the second half, as he ripped in a rebound to extend the Viking advantage. Three minutes later, Chappell booted a shot off the Laurel keeper to cap the scoring for the Vikings.

The road will get steeper for the Vikings, as they battle Vicksburg on the road Monday at 5:30 p.m.

(G) WC 2, Laurel 1

Julie Waddle’s sixth goal of the season came in the clutch, as she booted in a ball off a Lindsey Barfield assist with just five minutes left to give WC (3-1) a victory.

“We got in a bind and our girls didn’t put their heads down. They battled as a team and did what they needed to do to get the win,” WC assistant coach Trey Banks said. “We got the goals when it mattered and our defense played great.”

Shannon Richter scored the other goal for the Lady Vikes off a Chelsea Duett assist. Kira Morrell scored the lone goal for Laurel (2-2).