FLOWOOD — Warren Central’s defense withstood assault after assault with nary a scratch on the scoreboard Thursday night. Even the mightiest walls can crack, however, and eventually the Vikings’ formidable back line proved it was no exception.

Chandler Shirley sneaked through the defense to take a quick pass from Peyton Ratcliff and shot the ball into the net in the 35th minute. It stood up as the game’s only goal as the Cougars beat Warren Central 1-0.

Northwest Rankin outshot Warren Central 31-6. Despite that lopsided stat, and his team’s first loss of the season, WC coach Greg Head said he wasn’t discouraged by the outcome.

“Even though it was our first loss, it was not a bad loss, because they’re a good team. They’re probably one of the better teams in the state,” Head said. “We’ve got a tough schedule down the road, and to get down to some of those teams that are really good, this is a good start.”

Warren Central (6-1) struggled to generate any consistent offense. Although it did a bit better in the second half, most of its chances came sporadically on rushes or through balls.

The Vikings’ best chance to tie might have been the last play of the game. Braylen Greer took a free kick from the left side of the field, about 25 yards from the goal, and managed to put it into a pack of players in front of the net. A deflection sent the ball wide right and the final whistle blew once the ball crossed the end line.

“We played a little timid at first, just because it’s Northwest Rankin. Once we realized we could play and we settled down in the second half, I think we did a lot better job,” Head said.” It was a good game, period, because we know now we can play with these bigger schools.”

Northwest Rankin (8-0), by contrast, had chances all night long. It took nine corner kicks, had several breakaway opportunities, and had a sustained presence on the Vikings’ side of the field all night.

WC’s defense did a good job of forcing bad shots and breaking up some chances. When Northwest Rankin’s strikers did slip through, they had Chase Graham there waiting for them. The sophomore goal keeper made 14 saves, including four or five of the diving variety, to keep the Vikings in it.

“He made some excellent saves. He had a great game, is all I can say. He kept us in that game,” Head said.

The one blemish on the stellar defensive effort was Shirley’s goal with five minutes left in the first half. It started from steady pressure deep in WC’s end, and Ratcliff tapped the ball toward the net. Shirley split two defenders and beat Graham for a 1-0 lead and what turned out to be the game-winner.

It was only the second goal Warren Central has given up in seven games this season.

“Bigger, faster, they had a breakaway,” WC defender Jacob Cochran said, before adding that he was proud of his team’s overall performance. “Shutting down a team like that, only letting them score one goal, that’s fantastic. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

(G) Northwest Rankin 5, Warren Central 0

Jaelyn Hanson scored three goals, and Malika Verma scored one and assisted on another as Northwest Rankin (8-0) shut out Warren Central for the sixth consecutive time.

Verma scored the game’s first goal in the 28th minute, and then Hanson scored two in the last two minutes of the half to give Northwest Rankin a 3-0 lead.

Hanson scored again in the 45th minute and Lindsey Stephenson added another in the 50th minute.