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A dominant first 30 minutes Wednesday propelled Polk County to a 5-1 victory over Smoky Mountain in non-conference boys soccer action in G.M. Tennant Stadium.

The Wolverines (4-1-1) scored three times in an eight-minute span in the first half and built a 4-0 lead with 10 minutes left to go in the opening half.

Smoky Mountain (4-3) began to turn the tide a bit in the final minutes of the first half, then found the net early in the second half to slice into the Wolverine lead. But Cooper Meyer completed a hat trick in the 66th minute, breaking away from the Mustang defense and finding the net to stop Smoky’s momentum.

Riley Ballentine narrowly missed a goal moments later, and Polk comfortably preserved its margin for the rest of the evening.

Polk County began its early scoring onslaught in the 12th minute. Smoky goalkeeper Devlin Bright dove to deflect a Tommy Jackson cross, but the loose ball led to a scramble directly in front of the net, with Manny Albarran eventually poking the ball into the goal to give the Wolverines the lead.

Meyer helped set up the Wolverines’ next goal in the 17th minute, snaring a loose ball and racing down the left flank. He was able to slip a pass past a charging Bright toward the right post, where Tommy Varnadore outraced a defender and tapped the ball into the net for a 2-0 Wolverine edge.

Meyer then put his name in the scoring column in the 20th minute, taking a long through ball from Varnadore, weaving his way around Bright and flicking the ball into the open net.

Meyer added his second goal in the 24th minute, winning a footrace to a long, looping Nate Martinez pass and burying the breakaway in the lower left corner of the net for Polk’s 4-0 lead.

Meyer completed his hat trick in the second half on a stunning change of field. Smoky Mountain took a free kick from near midfield, with the ball eventually finding the foot of David Alvarez, who cleared the ball from just in front of the Wolverine goal to nearly midfield. Meyer corralled the loose ball, outran one defender, dribbled around another to the left side before drilling a left-footed shot into the right side of the net for his third goal.

Polk County returns to W.J. Miller Field on Thursday, hosting Madison for another non-conference encounter.