Polk County’s run to last year’s 3A state boys soccer championship match surprised plenty of people.
Charlie Wagoner wasn’t one of them.
The Wolverines’ goalkeeper said the players could see the possibility long before Polk County began its postseason run.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
“I think we all knew that it could happen,” Wagoner said. “Everybody. It was the goal from the start of the year, and everybody knew that was the team to do it. Once we beat Asheville it was really like, ‘Oh, we can do this. We gotta lock in for conference.’ That’s what we did, and it was great.”
So what comes next after playing on the final day of the season for a state championship?
For Wagoner and the Wolverines, the answer was simple: Get back to work.
Polk graduated a senior class that helped drive last season’s success, and Wagoner now finds himself taking on some of the leadership responsibilities those players once carried.
“I’m trying this year to improve my communication out of the back to help with the newer players we have to make sure we keep up the same intensity,” he said. “That starts from the back, and I’m trying to help whoever, wherever and whenever I can.”
It’s a role Polk County coach George Alley expects Wagoner to embrace.
“He’s a cool customer,” Alley said. “I’m charging him with some leadership responsibilities to try and get him to dictate the defense. If you’re a strong verbal goalie, it helps. Then you don’t have to think, because he tells you where he needs you to be. Because if you’re not where he needs you to be, then the ball comes right down his throat.”
When the ball does get through the defense, Wagoner has developed a knack for deciding when to leave his line and challenge and when to stay home.
There’s no formula, he said. The moment dictates the decision.
“It’s just in the moment,” Wagoner said. “I can’t tell you right now if I’d come out or not. It depends on the moment in the game. If we’re winning and we have the momentum, I’m not going to risk anything crazy. If we need momentum, if I need to come out and make a big save, I’ll try to get a momentum shift that way.
“If coming out will leave somebody wide open on the back post, if I come out he’ll make a pass and that’s all my effort gone. So it just depends on the situation.”
Alley saw Wagoner make major strides in that area last season.
“He made a lot of good saves,” Alley said. “I honestly thought he went the entire season without giving up a soft goal, which is all you can ask for.”
Wagoner is taking on another responsibility this fall as well.
Graduated senior Will Garrison handled Polk’s goal kicks in recent seasons, and his departure means those duties now fall to Wagoner. He spent part of the summer preparing for the change.
“It’s gonna be weird,” Wagoner said. “I’ve had Will Garrison taking goal kicks and he can hit it a mile. So it’s going to be different having to take them now, and I’ve been working on that over the summer, seeing how many times I can get it across the field, going back and forth at the end of my training.”
He’s also working on his punting, an important skill for a team capable of quickly turning defense into attack.
“It definitely tests my ability on punts, but it’s great,” Wagoner said. “Like, if I make a good save and the other team’s falling in, it gives us a great opportunity to capture momentum and go the other way. But I have to hit it exactly where I need to hit it so I don’t slow down the team.”
Wagoner has seen many of Polk’s attacking players throughout the year, including Tallis Metcalf and others he plays with in club soccer, and he remains confident in the Wolverines’ ability to create problems going forward.
“We might lose a little bit of speed out on the wings, but in the middle we’re just as strong as we were last year,” he said. “I play club with Tallis and some of the electric guys, so I get to watch them year-round, and that’s great.”
His expectations remain high.
Wagoner knows firsthand what Polk County is capable of accomplishing. He also knows another deep postseason run will require more than talent alone.
“I think we can do it, and go back to the regional finals if we really want it and lock in and play to the best of our ability,” he said. “And after that, a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt, either.”
