Offense was never a preseason concern for Polk County boys soccer coach Lennox Charles.
The return of seniors Wil Rimer and Jeremy Allsbrook, among others, left Charles certain the Wolverines would be able to threaten opponents offensively.
How the Wolverines would prevent opponents from doing the same, though, there was the question.
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“When we came into the season, I felt like with the players returning, Wil and Jeremy and so on, that we would be able to create chances,” Charles said. “I was not sure how often we would stop anyone.”
But led by seniors Garrett Weicker and Brad Blackwell, Polk County’s defense has steadily improved throughout the season, and the back unit is one reason why the Wolverines (17-4-1) have reached Wednesday’s third-round state 2A playoff match with Hendersonville (17-6), the showdown between the rivals set for 6 p.m. at Polk County Middle School.
The encounter is the third this season between the two teams, with Polk County winning the first two. No doubt Hendersonville will be more than determined to avoid a third loss, which means it could be another busy night for Polk’s defense.
“We know they’ll come out and play hard, and we’ll have to adjust really well,” Weicker said. “The same thing for them, they’ll try to shut down our key players and we’ll try to shut down their key players.”
Since a 4-3 loss to East Lincoln on Aug. 31, only two teams have scored more than two goals against Polk, Hendersonville one of those to do so in a 4-3 loss on Oct. 19 (Crest also did so in a 5-3 loss). Weicker and Blackwell head a back group in front of sophomore goalkeeper Wilson Edwards that includes two more sophomores, Carson Mitchell and John Dougherty.
“We are the voice in the back,” Weicker said. “We try to keep everything in order as best we can and try to keep everybody focused on the game. Jeremy is the voice in the middle and Wil is up top, and we’re in the back.”
The role of defender is rarely a glamorous one, the type of position where usually only mistakes, which lead to goals, are noticed. The job can be demanding not only because of the physical skills it requires, but the mental aspects as well.
“Judgment,” Blackwell said of a key trait needed to be successful. “You have to judge how fast the other players are coming, how fast they are with the ball. You also have to have a lot of trust.”
All of those traits were on full display in Saturday’s 3-2 second-round win over Shelby. Once the Wolverines took a 2-0 lead, Shelby began pressing more aggressively toward the Polk goal, putting added pressure on the Wolverine back line. The Lions would eventually score a pair of goals and tie the match, but were it not for the efforts of the defenders and Edwards in that span, Shelby might well have tallied more.
“They did an unbelievable job,” Charles said. “Dealing with Shelby, that is a task.
“Wilson has come along and gotten better since the season began, but those guys have had something to do with it. Those guys have done a really good job recovering and not getting beat and covering for one another. Hopefully, they can have something to handle the challenge that Hendersonville offers.”
Blackwell and Weicker both know their high school careers now last as long as they keep winning. Having helped Polk County reach the third round of the state 2A playoffs for the first time, they’d like to see those careers last a bit longer.
“It’s been a great run for us,” Weicker said. “I guess this really is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us.”
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