Five things to know: Polk County at Chase

Five things to know as Polk County opens the 2026 football season Thursday with a trip to Chase.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Allen Stadium. Both teams will be making their season debuts.

Almost everybody’s back: Second-year Chase head coach Jim Sosebee will have the benefit of an unusually experienced group as the Trojans look to improve on last season’s 5-6 finish.

Chase returns all 11 offensive starters and nine starters on defense, including much of the production from last season.

Senior quarterback Logan Gold completed 30-of-51 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns, and he’ll have plenty of experienced targets. Senior Brycen McSwain caught 42 passes for 832 yards and seven touchdowns, senior Tyrell Johnson had 33 receptions for 605 yards and six scores and junior Jason Hardon added 36 catches for 412 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior Keyontae Wingo gives the Trojans an established threat in the backfield after rushing 143 times for 1,025 yards and eight touchdowns.

Defensively, senior Kaiden Boyce returns after leading Chase with 107 tackles last season.

There will also be a familiar face on the Chase sideline. Former Polk County coach Jamie Thompson has joined the staff at his alma mater.

Old air, new ground: Polk County’s passing game will have plenty of familiar pieces. Its rushing attack will look much different.

Junior quarterback Brody Wilkins returns after completing 77-of-147 passes for 1,174 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Senior Styler Blackwell was his leading target, hauling in 36 passes for 711 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Acer Eadus had six receptions for 146 yards and a score.

On the ground, though, Polk County will be almost starting from scratch. No returning Wolverine rushed for more than 16 yards last season.

Blackwell and Dre Thompson are expected to get much of the work in the backfield as Polk looks to replace the production lost with the graduation of Loreynzo Sanchez.

How quickly that new running game develops could be one of the biggest questions facing the Wolverines in Thursday’s opener.

Styler everywhere: Moving into the backfield will simply add another responsibility to what was already a lengthy job description for Blackwell.

In addition to leading Polk County in receptions and receiving yards last season, Blackwell also led the Wolverine defense with 101 tackles, eight of those for loss.

Now the senior is expected to become one of Polk’s featured running backs while remaining a key part of the passing game and defense.

Senior Zach McCraw also returns after recording 49 tackles last season, giving Polk another experienced presence on a defense that will immediately be tested by Wingo and Chase’s veteran skill-position group.

Two points and one game: There hasn’t been much separating Polk County and Chase lately, including in the series standings.

Polk survived a wild 34-32 battle last season, with Sanchez rushing 24 times for 233 yards while adding five receptions for 75 yards and an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Wilkins also had a big night, completing 12-of-17 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

Thursday’s game will be the 18th meeting between the programs, with Polk County holding a 9-8 advantage. A Chase victory would pull the series even; another Wolverine win would give Polk a two-game advantage in the matchup.

Thursday blues: Playing on Thursday has been a rarity in Polk County football history – and not yet a successful one.

Thursday’s game will be just the sixth such game in school history. The Wolverines lost each of the previous five, with three of those defeats coming against Mitchell and one each against Mountain Heritage and Landrum.

Four of those games were shifted from Friday in order to be part of regional broadcasts on WMYA-TV.