Five things to know as Polk County hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Greer to face Blue Ridge in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
The Blue Ridge Tigers Sports Network will offer a live audio stream of the game.
Last week: Newton-Conover raced to a 49-14 win over Polk County; Blue Ridge opened its season with a 29-22 win over Wade Hampton.
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BOUNCING BACK IN A BIG WAY: Blue Ridge running back Jakorey Dodd didn’t let an early turnover affect his performance.
The 5-9, 155-pound senior rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns in Blue Ridge’s win over Wade Hampton. His effort helped the Tigers score 22 points in the fourth quarter to rally for the win.
Dodd began last season as a wide receiver, catching a 40-yard touchdown pass in Blue Ridge’s 42-36 win at Polk County. He transitioned to running back during the season and finished with 295 yards on 70 carries.
He’ll be a key factor for the Tigers on Friday.
BACK AT THE HELM: Blue Ridge quarterback Gavin Forrester had a sterling effort in last season’s win at Polk, rushing for 115 yards and four touchdowns while throwing for 137 yards and two scores.
He’s back, a senior who opened the season with a 13-for-19, 110-yard effort against Wade Hampton. He also rushed for 28 yards.
Forrester is on track to graduate in December and hopes to become a military officer. Stopping him will be vital for Polk County’s defense.
UP FRONT: Polk County’s offensive line will have to keep an eye on Blue Ridge senior defensive end Aiden Crump.
The 6-0, 195-pound Crump had eight tackles, two of those for loss, and a pair of quarterback hurries in the Tigers’ opening win.
Something about Wade Hampton brings out the best in Crump, who also had eight tackles in Blue Ridge’s 21-14 win over the Generals in 2024.
THE MAIN TARGET: Polk County junior Styler Blackwell is becoming the player to watch in the Wolverines’ passing attack.
Blackwell has snared nine passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns in the Wolverines’ opening two games. He has proven especially adept at turning short gains into long ones, as he did in a game-ending touchdown last week.
Blackwell starred as a running back at Polk County Middle, and that background has proven useful in his role as a receiver. Quarterback Brody Wilkins will undoubtedly continue to look in Blackwell’s direction this week.
BACK TO THE PALMETTO STATE: The road trip to Greer will mark the first time since 2004 that a Polk County squad has visited a South Carolina opponent other than Landrum.
That last road trip took place on Oct. 1, 2004, with the Wolverines journeying to Camden Military Academy and making the road trip a success with a 36-13 win.
Former Polk County defensive coordinator Jamie Thompson recently shared this story from that trip:
This was a three-hour trip, so we took a chartered bus. It was 90-something degrees. We go out for pre-game warmups and Bruce (Ollis) notices that several players were not wearing our game-issued high white socks, but were instead wearing short ankle socks, Fired up, he tells the whole team that players not wearing the high socks would not play. This sent all the assistant coaches into panic mode. Some of the players wearing the short socks included Daniel McEntyre, Micheal Gossenreiter, Stewart Davis, Justin Jackson, Ken Tackett, Jarvis Garrett and Justin Covil. For some reason I had a couple pairs of long white socks in my bags, but we needed more. Chris Mintz got a hold of somebody who picked up enough pairs. We went on to win that day.
