Warren head coach Denny Flatt felt that may have been the case for his Dragons during Saturday’s District 10 Region 4 boys soccer match.

But they didn’t last long.

A four-goal outburst midway through the first half sent Warren on its way to a 6-0 shutout of Franklin at War Memorial Field.

“We had one scrimmage, but we played better this game than we did in the scrimmage,” Flatt said. “It was first-game jitters. Every game is a region game this year. We wanted to get that first region win.”

Times Observer Photo by Matt Spielman Warren's Mark Lynds (7) battles a Franklin player for possession during Saturday's District 10 Region 4 boys soccer game at War Memorial Field.

The Dragons controlled possession throughout the match — at times in dominating fashion — and it showed to the tune of a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal.

“I thought the combinations were pretty good today,” Flatt said. “Even things that didn’t work, look like they are going to work in the future.”

Sophomore Mark Lynds led the way on offense with a hat trick and Warren owned the midfield. Senior Alex Ferry and sophomore Will Nebinski combined for five saves in net for the clean sheet.

“Win the 50-50 balls and keep possession,” Flatt said were the keys. “The other team can’t score if they can’t get the ball. We try to drill that into them at practice.”

Sophomore Parks Ordiway opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he received a through ball from Ian Darling to spring him on a breakaway from about 35 yards out. Ordiway’s shot deflected off the Franklin keeper’s hands and into the back of the net for the first goal of the 2020 season.

Times Observer Photo by Matt Spielman Warren's Jack Darling (10) attempts to take the ball away from a Franklin player during Saturday's District 10 Region 4 boys soccer game at War Memorial Field.

“His body has developed a little bit. He has speed and confidence on the ball,” Warren assistant coach Chris Darling said of Ordiway. “He’s going to have a great year.”

Just over a minute later, Lynds scored his first of the season with a great one-man effort. The sophomore intercepted a goal kick, beat his defender in the right side of the 18-yard box and then tucked a shot inside the near post to make it 2-0.

“That was a will goal,” Chris Darling said of Lynds, who had just one goal last season. “He’s a strong guy. Up on top, he can certainly harass defenders and get some nice looks.”

Exactly one minute later, the Dragons made it 3-0 when Wesley Kiehl sent a no-look back-heel pass to Lynds and he shot across the grain to the far post for his second goal.

“Wes is super creative on the field,” Chris Darling said. “He and the seniors have been playing together since they were little kids.”

Times Observer Photo by Matt Spielman Warren's Corban Reinard (11) attempts to settle the ball in front of a Franklin defender during Saturday's District 10 Region 4 boys soccer game at War Memorial Field.

Junior JT Blum capped the six-minute scoring spree in the 19th minute when he took a pass from John Page inside of 10 yards and scored to make it 4-0.

Warren’s six seniors — Ferry, Darling, Page, Zane Anderson, Sean Duckett and Kiehl — were honored during a halftime ceremony.

“Ian was scheduled to be our starting keeper, but being the team player that he is we talked him into coming in to play the field,” Flatt said of Darling. “Basically, seeing him in practice, we couldn’t keep him off the field. He’s just a difference maker.”

After the break, it took the Dragons a while to get going again, but in the 69th minute Lynds capped his hat trick in close as Ordiway made a very unselfish play in tight with the keeper and found Lynds wide open in the center of the net.

Ordiway closed out the scoring with his second goal off a pass from Page with just over 12 minutes remaining.

“His tenacity and his will to get to the ball and to the net, you can’t teach it,” Flatt said of Ordiway.

Kiehl and Page dominated in the middle portion of the field giving the Warren defense and goalkeepers a relatively easy day. They each had 16 steals to go along with 22 tackles.

“I wanted to keep my varsity out there just to keep that chemistry going,” Flatt said. “When games are out of hand, it’s really hard to see if things are going to work. We played all of our sophomores, juniors and seniors.”

The Dragons will return to action Tuesday at Eisenhower.