LINESVILLE — Nothing to it.

Warren’s newest placekicker is sophomore Gavin Rex, who happens to be a starting forward/midfielder on the varsity boys’ soccer team. Prior to Friday night, he had never kicked a field goal.

His very first was a game-winner in Warren’s 10-7 Region 5 victory on Friday at Conneaut.

Rex’s 23-yarder, held by Carter Pascuzzi, squeezed by the left upright with under 5 seconds remaining. The right-footed kicker who kicks in his soccer spikes connected on 6-of-6 extra points last week in a win over Girard a day after scoring his first soccer goal of the season. On Friday, he missed a 39-yard attempt earlier in the second half before booting the game-winner at the end.

“First of all, I was so nervous going into that kick but, honestly, I trusted my blocks and my holder and kept my head down on the ball and kept focus,” said Rex, who warmed up with a 35-yard field goal at Conneaut High School before the game.

“They have been testing me in practice for the past few weeks to see if I can get my range farther and higher, and it really paid off,” he said.

Thank goodness it wasn’t Warren’s only first as junior Tommy Nyquist had well over 200 yards rushing for the first time in a varsity uniform, and 260-plus rushing and receiving to give Rex and the Dragons the chance.

Added Nyquist: “I’m feeling good. The guys blocked great. It was a great team win.”

It wasn’t easy for either team to sustain drives in a scoreless first quarter. Conneaut — looking to end a 20-game losing streak — opened the second quarter deep in Warren territory. A quarterback keeper inside the 10-yard line was called back for a holding penalty, which was a common theme for the game; one step forward and two steps back. Before you knew it, the Eagles were punting from their side of the field.

With Warren trying to establish the run, Nyquist broke through the line for a 30-yard scamper to Conneaut’s 45. Two plays later, Nyquist had another nine to the 36. That set up Ethan Senz’s 36-yard touchdown run with 7:22 left in the second quarter. Rex’s extra point gave Warren a 7-0 lead.

Conneaut answered on its next drive, but it took a fourth-down-and-6 play from the Warren 45-yard line for the score. With quarterback Logan Groover being chased, he threw downfield to Joseph Furgiuele, who raced down the right sideline for the score.

After a couple more drives stalled, including a fourth-down stop of Conneaut on a similar pass play as the touchdown, Nyquist took over drives. He was even lining up in the wildcat, driving Warren down inside the 15-yard line mid-fourth quarter before penalties pushed the Dragons back — again. The drive ended when Rex fell short on a long field goal attempt.

Conneaut then drove downfield with a chance to take the lead.

“Conneaut has always been a tough place for us to play, but I give a ton of credit to our kids because they faced a lot of adversity tonight, penalties, bad breaks, and more,” said Warren coach Mark Morelli,” whose Dragons are 2-2 overall.

Added Morelli: “It was a struggle all night long, but two big fourth-quarter plays turned things in our favor. Nick Pennucci blocked their field-goal attempt from the 30 with an assist from Alan McAllister with about 4 minutes left in the game.

“Our offense was able to grind their way down to the 6, got called for holding, (Tommy) pushed us back to the 13, and 2 straight timeouts by Conneaut had no effect on Gavin Rex as he drilled a game-winner with 4 seconds left. Gavin was able to experience what every kicker dreams of — a game-winner. He is a two-sport athlete and we are glad he is part of our team.”

Nyquist pulled a potential interception away from a Conneaut cornerback on a long bomb from Eric Dippold to the 5-yard line. Penalties pushed Warren back again, but Nyquist pushed them forward again. He had close 230 yards rushing unofficially — tough, tough yards.

“We ran him a lot; just missed on two long pass plays early on,” said Morelli of his junior back.

The long pass play to the five set up Rex’s game-winner.

“Next week is a big Saturday night home matchup with Fairview (at War Memorial Field),” said Morelli. “We need to have a better focus and a better approach to that game. Our kids need to understand the mental approach to the game is just as important as the physical part.”