Dustin Fry’s pregame concern proved all too real Friday evening.
The Polk County coach worried that Newton-Conover would be able to mount sustained offensive drives behind its burly offensive line and effective ground game. That the Red Devils did and then some, scoring on their first five possessions en route to a 49-14 victory in G.M. Tennant Stadium.
Newton-Conover (2-0) built a 35-0 halftime lead, then immediately extended it as Naiym Robinson returned the opening kickoff of the second half 93 yards for a touchdown. The Red Devils added another score before Polk County finally pushed across a pair of late touchdowns.
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There were bright spots for the Wolverines. Loreynzo Sanchez didn’t find running room as easily as he did in the season opener against Chase, but still managed 115 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. Styler Blackwell proved a yards-after-catch demon, racking up 107 yards on three receptions, including a game-ending 55-yard catch-and-run for a score.
But Polk County (1-1) simply never found any means to stop Newton-Conover’s offense. Short fields didn’t help – the Red Devils had an average starting position at the Polk 49. That included three first-half drives that began at the Polk 45, 21 and 1 – the Red Devils scored on each.
Newton-Conover also threw a curve at Polk County and kicked off deep on every attempt rather than try the hard line drives it did in its season-opening win over Alexander Central. That helped the Red Devils win the field position battle.
Trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Wolverines fashioned perhaps their best drive of the night. Starting at its 14, Polk marched steadily to the Newton-Conover 34. But a holding penalty on a 2nd-and-5 play pushed the Wolverines back to the 47, and Polk eventually punted on 4th-and-12 from the 41.
The Red Devils took over at the 19 and soon found the end zone. Jeremiah Pope’s 40-yard scamper helped lead to his 2-yard scoring run with 4:58 left in the half, giving Newton-Conover a 21-0 edge.
Timothy Mehalic’s 22-yard punt return, plus a 15-yard penalty, allowed the Red Devils to start their next drive at the Polk 21, and they needed just two plays to score on Camden Ezzard’s 22-yard pass to Mehalic. A fumble on the ensuing kickoff gave the Red Devils the ball at the 1, and Pope plowed into the end zone to make it 35-0 with 2:53 left in the half.
That stalled Polk drive, and Newton-Conover’s three scores in 2:14 of game time, essentially decided the outcome. The teams played the second half with a running clock following Robinson’s quarter-opening kickoff return.
Pope led Newton-Conover with 76 yards on eight carries, with Ezzard adding 53 yards on eight carries. He also threw for two touchdowns and 83 yards on 3-of-7 attempts.
Polk quarterback Brody Wilkins finished 8-for-16 for 137 yards and a score.
The Wolverines will hit the road next Friday for the first time this season, traveling to Blue Ridge (S.C.) for a 7:30 p.m. game.
