Local writers pick Polk to place fifth in WHC football race

Hendersonville is the pick to win the Western Highlands Conference regular-season football title in 2026.

That’s the word from writers at the Citizen-Times in Asheville and the Times-News in Hendersonville, staff combining to make their choice for the order of finish in the WHC this season.

The group tapped Polk County to finish fifth this season, noting that Styler Blackwell and Brody Wilkins lead a group of returnees who must replace the more than 1,900 yards of rushing racked up last season by Loreynzo Sanchez.

Hendersonville comes off a 9-3 season and features a number of returnees led by quarterback JaRon Ward.

The full predicted order of finish:

Hendersonville
Mitchell
Mountain Heritage
Owen
Polk County
Madison
Avery

Some Staff Reports content may be produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools. All content is reviewed by a human editor before publication.

Local writers pick Polk to place fifth in WHC football race

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