Dustin Fry knows the honeymoon is over.
The Polk County head coach watched his Wolverines open the season with a 34-32 victory over Chase, fueled by Loreynzo Sanchez’s 390-yard all-purpose performance. But as Newton-Conover arrives Friday at G.M. Tennant Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, Fry is tempering expectations and preparing his team for a much different challenge.
“Some of them think they’ve arrived, we’re good now,” Fry said. “No, it’s harder every week. Now they know what you do. They have film on you. It’s a little bit more difficult.”
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The Red Devils (1-0) bring a physical presence that should test the Wolverines. Newton-Conover opened with a 42-21 victory over Alexander Central, rallying from a 14-0 deficit behind a dominant ground game. Sophomore running back Jeremiah Pope carried 20 times for 172 yards and four touchdowns while senior quarterback Camden Ezzard added 130 rushing yards and a score on 19 carries.
“(Ezzard) has a cannon,” Fry said. “They’re going to run a lot of option and counter and quarterback run. He’s big. We’ve got to tackle him low. He’s a big dude.”
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Ezzard also showed his arm strength against Alexander Central, completing 4-of-7 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. But it’s Newton-Conover’s physicality that has Fry’s attention as the Wolverines seek their first 2-0 start since 2019.
“This game’s going to be harder. It’s going to be more physical because they’re big, they’re big upfront, both sides of the ball, they got length,” Fry said. “So it’s going to be more lock-in.”
Newton-Conover’s special teams also proved crucial in the comeback victory as the Red Devils recovered two kickoffs to help fuel their rally from the early deficit. The strategy isn’t necessarily to surprise teams with onside kicks, according to Fry.
“They don’t onside it, but what they try to do is just smoke the front line with the ball, or get you to hit it,” he said. “They’re trying to get a carom or a bat or something. They were able to get two of those and that kind of turned the game for them with two extra possessions.”
For Polk County (1-0), the challenge will be sustaining the momentum from an opener in which Sanchez rushed for 234 yards and a touchdown, caught five passes for 75 yards and returned a kickoff 82 yards for a score. The senior’s explosive performance helped the Wolverines control much of the game against Chase.
But Newton-Conover’s run-heavy approach figures to dictate a different pace Friday.
“I told the guys this game’s going to go fast,” Fry said. “Last week was slow, especially that third quarter. This game is going to roll with as much run as they do, that clock’s going to run. So we’ve got to be able to take our chances. I’m a little worried about them sustaining long drives and us not getting the ball.”
Despite the concerns about Newton-Conover’s physicality, Fry found plenty to like in the opener. The play of several underclassmen stood out, particularly freshman RJ Simpson, who made a crucial tackle on the game’s first play.
“I like that our freshmen aren’t scared,” Fry said. “I was a little worried about our freshmen because sometimes it can be a little big. They went after RJ the first play, went empty, and he made a big tackle. If he doesn’t make that tackle, that’s an 80-yard touchdown.”
The Wolverines also got solid performances from Callum and Acer Eadus, with Callum Eadus handling left tackle duties throughout the game without incident. The blocking downfield from receivers such as Keyan Simpson proved crucial in springing Sanchez for extended runs.
“There were a lot of positives, and obviously when you win, it’s a lot easier to coach the negatives,” Fry said. “I really liked what Cal (Eadus) and Acer (Eadus) were doing, how they keep coming on. I told Callum, I didn’t notice you in the game, which is a good thing. He played left tackle the whole game and was never an issue. Did some really good things and held his own.”
For the Wolverines, Friday represents a chance to build on early success. The energy from the season-opening victory has been palpable, according to Fry, but now comes the test of sustaining that momentum.
“It’s definitely a lot when guys kind of feel it coming in Monday, the energy and excitement,” Fry said. “It’s one of those things where I’m like guys, we’ve been 1-0 after the first game since I’ve been here, it doesn’t always mean everything. So we need to make sure that what we did last week, we do it this game. This game’s going to be harder.”
