Polk County enters 2026 with deeper roster, different vibe

There are more players on Polk County’s football practice field this August.

But there also seems to be more life.

More competition. More voices. More players pushing teammates from one drill to the next. More interest in why the Wolverines are doing something rather than simply where they need to line up.

And, for the first time since 2022, a junior varsity football team.

All of which has left head coach Dustin Fry with a much different feeling as the Wolverines prepare for Thursday’s season opener at Chase.

“Yeah, it changes how you can practice,” Fry said. “We’ve been able to, at some times, actually split into a JV and varsity practice and practice at the same time, which has never been the case, pretty much (as Fry enters his fourth season).

“So that’s been nice, too. They’ve been able to develop at the same time. They’re not getting just killed by the varsity. But also just being able to have some position battles. Guys aren’t coming in anointed and like, well, there’s no one behind me but a freshman.”

Those position battles are one benefit of Polk County’s growing numbers.

The spirit developing around the program may be another.

Fry spent much of his first seasons at Polk County supplying the energy at practice, constantly prodding players to move faster, get lined up and keep working. He still does plenty of that, of course, but increasingly he hears other voices joining his. Some belong to assistant coaches. More and more belong to players.

“Early on I felt like it was always me having to get stuff going. Like, let’s go, let’s go, let’s move,” Fry said. “Now it’s obviously other coaches, but it’s also the players that are doing it.

“So it doesn’t feel such a load on me where I can actually focus on some other things. And that’s been really nice.”

The change didn’t suddenly arrive with the opening of preseason practice.

Fry points to the work done during offseason weightlifting, when several players made significant gains in size and strength. Attendance remained high throughout the summer, and that momentum has carried into August.

Players jog from drill to drill. Practices move quickly. Coaches can spend more time correcting details rather than simply trying to get everyone organized.

“It’s just a different vibe,” Fry said. “Going out to practice feels like, OK, we can work on the smaller things and the detail of things rather than trying to get just to hustle and line up and get a scout team out here and get guys that aren’t hiding in the back.

“There’s not as much of that anymore.”

The next step, of course, is translating that progress into wins.

Polk County finished 3-8 last season and enters 2026 with one very large offensive hole to fill. Loreynzo Sanchez rushed for 1,916 yards, including a record-setting 343-yard, eight-touchdown epic effort against Avery. No returning Wolverine had more than 16 yards rushing for the season.

So while there is no obvious replacement for that production, Fry isn’t looking for one. Instead, the Wolverines hope several players can collectively replace what Sanchez provided.

Styler Blackwell and Dre Thompson will get much of that opportunity. Both give Polk County bigger, more north-south options in the backfield, a contrast from the dynamic Sanchez.

“Obviously it’ll be different,” Fry said. “We’ll still do what we do in the run game. But just with having a bigger running back – really two bigger running backs, Dre and Styler – that changes, more north and south. And obviously they’ll be able to break more tackles.

“Losing 2,000 yards is going to be tough. But f it’s Moneyball and we can get three guys to make those, whatever, that’s fine.”

Blackwell will hardly be stepping into an unfamiliar offensive role.

He caught 36 passes for 711 yards and five touchdowns last season, leading Polk County in all three categories. Thompson, meanwhile, has been one of the brighter stories of the offseason after he told coaches he was unhappy with his preparation a year ago. Fry expects Thompson to play in the slot as well as the backfield and become a significant part of the offense.

“He’s been nothing but a bright spot,” Fry said. “Just attitude, effort.

“Dre’s going to be a huge target this year. He’s going to catch a lot of balls.”

Junior Brody Wilkins returns at quarterback, completing 77-of-147 passes for 1,174 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He returns noticeably leaner, having lost roughly 20 pounds during the offseason, and Fry believes that could add another dimension to his game.

Jesse Moore and RJ Simpson will give Wilkins speed on the outside. Thompson should be another target, while Sawyer Huff and Acer Eadus give Polk County two tight ends capable of contributing in the passing game.

That group has given Fry more options without necessarily requiring the Wolverines to make the offense more complicated.

“I’m trying to really this year to be more of a same thing, but different looks,” Fry said. “I’m trying not to give too much to Brody where he can execute the same concepts, but we can just window-dress a different look and not have too much.”

Polk County also enters the season with more experience up front.

Callum Eadus has worked at left tackle, with Isaiah Staley at left guard. Chester Wilson returns at center, with Mason Littlefield and Simon Moore also bringing experience to the line. Jordan Edwards and Hudson Hyde have also worked into the rotation, giving Fry more options than in recent seasons, though depth up front can still quickly become an issue if injuries hit.

Fry, though, likes the mentality of the group.

“They play really hard and come off the ball and they try to hit you,” he said.

Many of those linemen will see time on defense as well.

Polk County hopes to be more physical and disruptive up front, with Fry crediting the work of the defensive staff for getting players to attack more and create penetration.

Blackwell will direct the linebacking corps. Thompson will work alongside him, with Zach McCraw also returning after recording 49 tackles last season.

Moore, who had 27 tackles a year ago, and Simpson give the Wolverines athletic options at cornerback. Andy Serrano has impressed Fry at safety, while newcomer Rylan Phillips is learning an outside linebacker/rover role after moving to Polk County from Virginia.

The added depth and athleticism should allow the Wolverines to vary their defensive looks more than in recent seasons.

“I feel like we can play some different things and still be able to execute,” Fry said.

That increased flexibility reflects another area in which Fry thinks the program is developing.

The Wolverines are beginning to understand more football. Instead of simply learning an assignment, players are asking why it works. Fry has seen more players come into the field house wanting another look at a play or coverage, seeking a better grasp of the scheme.

“I think it’s higher learning now,” Fry said. “We can really go into more detailed plays. “They understand things a little bit more, and they want to know, which is nice. They come in here and they want, ‘So on this play, show that to me again.’

“In the past, I didn’t always get guys wanting to come in and have the higher understanding or higher learning of things. Guys are wanting to know about football and learn football.”

Special teams remain perhaps Polk County’s biggest uncertainty entering the opener.

Brody Wolfe has handled much of the kicking and punting work during camp, and Fry has become more comfortable with the punting operation. Kickoffs remain a concern. Fry has also made special teams a much larger emphasis throughout the preseason, believing improvement there could directly affect Polk County’s win total.

“I’ve spent more focus on special teams this year because I told the team that I do think in the past, I’m not saying it’s been an afterthought, but I feel like if we can spend more time on it, then it can help us win maybe two more games this year and not lose us games,” he said.

Thursday at Chase will offer the first indication of how much all of Polk County’s offseason work will matter on the scoreboard.

There are still questions. But there is also something around the program that hasn’t always been present in recent seasons.

Momentum.

And after a productive winter flowed into a well-attended summer and then into an energetic preseason, Fry senses that some of the things he has been preaching since arriving at Polk County are beginning to become part of the program itself.

“We had a very good summer, really high attendance all summer,” he said. “And it’s just kind of continued that way to where it’s kind of the standard now.

“This is how it’s done.”