According to the schedule, Warren Central’s boys’ soccer team was playing Crystal Springs on Thursday night. In reality, the Vikings were playing Northwest Rankin, Clinton, Madison Central and any number of other top-flight opponents they’ll have to face later on.

Tony King scored three goals and assisted on another, and seven other players scored one goal apiece as the Vikings hammered an overmatched Crystal Springs squad 10-0.

Warren Central coach Greg Head said that what the game lacked in competition, it made up for as an opportunity to work on some tactics and techniques that will be needed in bigger games in December and January.

“We just got some work in and let everybody play a little bit. We’ve been trying to work the ball better, because when we’re playing a team with a higher speed we could work the ball but we weren’t used to that speed. So we’ve been trying to tell the kids to work the ball faster to get ready for that speed,” Head said. “We had to get quicker. As we’re going down the road, the teams that we’re playing are getting better and better. Our district is tough.”

The one-sided contest was halted by the mercy rule, which ends a game immediately if either team leads by seven or more goals at the 10-minute mark of the second half. Warren Central scored six goals in the first half and four more before the final whistle blew right at the 10-minute mark of the second half.

Warren Central (5-1) took 28 shots in the 50-minute game, and did not allow any. The Vikings sent a number of shots high or wide of the net in the early going, before King broke the ice in the seventh minute. Munir Shuaibi got the second goal a minute later, and the floodgates gradually opened.

Anden McClurg, Peyton Davidson, Ben Vroman, Justin Hasty, Parker Green and Zack Evans all scored goals.

“We were trying to put more shots on frame,” Head said. “When you’re playing a good team you don’t get that many shots, and if you don’t at least put them on frame you can’t score. We’ve got to get these shots on frame. We won’t get half that many shots against some other teams.”

(G) Warren Central 10, Crystal Springs 0
Gloria Hall scored three goals, seven other players scored one apiece, and Warren Central’s girls’ soccer team earned an easy win Thursday over Crystal Springs.

Adie Keller, Jordan Polk, Melissa Herrle, Shelby Hasty, Alana Hearn, Adi Leist and Alyssa Bordelon each scored one goal for Warren Central (4-2). All of them, plus a few more players, are new to the lineup this season. The Lady Vikes had to replace all 11 starters from last the 2019-20 roster, and Head said Thursday’s game was a prime opportunity to both build confidence and learn a few important lessons.

“With 11 new girls, it’s good to play somebody like this because you get used to playing together,” Head said. “When you get a whole new team out there, nobody has played with anybody. So it was good for them because they learned to work the ball. You don’t always have to go forward. Drop it back when you need to.”