A see-saw Blue Ridge Conference battle eventually tilted in Polk County Middle’s favor on Wednesday.
The Wolverines built an early two-goal lead, saw that advantage disappear, but regained the upper hand and finally handed Hendersonville Middle a 3-2 defeat at Utz Field.
Polk Middle (5-1) struck twice in a seven-minute span in the first half to grab its 2-0 edge. Brennan Oates scored both, hitting a low shot into the left corner of the net for his first tally, then working a beautiful give-and-go with Owen Justice to set up the second, a hard strike from the right side that clanged off the left post for the two-goal edge.
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Hendersonville Middle (1-3) answered with a goal less than two minutes after Oates’ strike, then evened the match early in the second half.
But the Wolverines got the game-winning goal with 19:32 remaining in the match as a Bearcat defender blocked a Callaway Cameron shot near the top of the penalty area, with the ball bouncing to Oates, who took a touch and let fly a shot that found the net for his third goal of the day.
The Wolverine defense then made the lead stand, with goalkeeper Jackson Blotner leaping high to make one challenging save and collecting a couple of others in the waning minutes.
Polk Middle will return to action on Monday, hosting Flat Rock Middle in a 4:30 p.m. match.
