East Surry scored Friday in unexpected ways. Polk County failed to score when expected.
And that spelled the end of the Wolverines’ 2025 season.
The Cardinals found the end zone on a pair of special teams plays and stopped the Wolverines twice inside the 5-yard line from doing the same, setting the stage for a 35-15 victory in the opening round of the state 3A playoffs in Pilot Mountain.
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Polk County ended its year with a 3-8 record and undoubtedly a couple of regrets as to how Friday’s matchup unfolded:
- East Surry (5-6) scored its first touchdown on a blocked punt and its last on a short punt return. The Cardinals also blocked a Polk County field goal attempt.
- The Wolverines ran eight plays from the East Surry 5-yard line or closer and failed to score on any of those. Polk had two other drives reach the Cardinal 25 that also didn’t produce points.
Change that script, and who knows? Perhaps Polk County, which forced three turnovers and had a chance in the third quarter to cut East Surry’s lead to a single score, might have prolonged its season.
East Surry grabbed an early lead on Polk County’s opening possession. After forcing a Wolverine punt at the 38, East’s Porter Gibson raced in from Blake Anderson’s right and smothered Anderson’s attempted kick. The block rolled toward the Wolverine end zone, and Gibson scooped it up at the 20 and rumbled to the end zone, giving the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with just more than a minute gone off the clock.
Thirteen seconds later, the score was tied. Nolan Simpson fielded the ensuing kickoff, raced through the middle of East Surry’s kickoff coverage team and outran a would-be tackler to the end zone. Anderson’s extra point made it 7-7 with 10:32 still on the clock.
The Cardinals, who rushed for 296 yards on the night, steadily marched toward the end zone with their first offensive possession, keeping the ball on the ground until quarterback JB Davis capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown toss to Aiden Harpe. Joel Gutierrez added the point after to put East back in front, 14-7, with 5:13 left in the first quarter.
Back came the Wolverines, putting together a drive that reached the Cardinal 26. A first down sack of Brody Wilkins, plus a false start penalty, pushed Polk back to the 32, and there Harpe picked off a deep Wilkins pass, stopping that threat.
Polk’s next opportunity came in the second period, a possession that reached that East 28 before stalling. Anderson lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt, but the kick was blocked, giving the Cardinals the ball at their 39. East Surry needed just four plays to cover the 61 yards to the end zone, with Jon Hutchins racing the final 35 for a score that put East up 21-7 with 5:13 left in the half.
The Cardinals had one more scoring chance late in the half, but RJ Simpson intercepted a Davis pass in the end zone in the final minute. Polk then forced another turnover on East’s opening drive of the second half, with Nolan Simpson stripping Zack Keener of the ball following a pass reception and recovering it at the Polk 41.
A 54-yard catch-and-run by Styler Blackwell gave Polk a first and goal at the 2. But two runs and an incompletion left Polk facing a 4th-and-goal, still at the 2, and Wilkins was smothered by East’s defensive front while attempting to pass. The sophomore quarterback was also injured on the play and didn’t return.
Emboldened by the stop, the Cardinals drove 98 yards in nine plays for another score, that a Davis 3-yard run with 2:25 left in the third to up the lead to 28-7. With RJ Simpson at quarterback, Polk answered with a methodical drive, aided by a key roughing the passer penalty, that produced a first and goal at the 5. Three plays netted a yard, and Simpson was sacked on fourth down to end the threat.
East tacked on a late touchdown when Logan Moore returned an RJ Simpson quick kick 23 yards for a score with 2:28 remaining. A long Loreynzo Sanchez kickoff return set up Polk’s final score, that a 15-yard Sanchez run with 1:20 left.
Sanchez finished with 133 yards on 25 carries, ending one of the best individual seasons in Polk County history with more than 1,900 yards rushing.
EAST SURRY 35, POLK COUNTY 15
PC 7 0 0 8 — 15
ES 14 7 7 7 — 35
FIRST QUARTER
ES – Porter Gibson 38 blocked punt return (Joel Gutierrez kick), 10:45
PC – Nolan Simpson 78 kickoff return (Blake Anderson kick), 10:32
ES – Aiden Harpe 9 pass from JB Davis (Gutierrez kick), 5:13
SECOND QUARTER
ES – Jon Hutchins 35 run (Gutierrez kick), 4:06
THIRD QUARTER
ES – JB Davis 3 run (Gutierrez kick), 2:25
FOURTH QUARTER
ES – Logan Moore 23 punt return (Gutierrez kick), 2:28
PC – Loreynzo Sanchez 15 run (Sanchez run), 1:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
PC – Loreynzo Sanchez 25-133, RJ Simpson 6-(-14), Brody Wilkins 4-(-17). ES – Nathan Kiger 10-130, Jon Hutchens 17-127, JB Davis 7-37, Aidan Harpe 2-13, Ronald Locklaer 2-1, team 2-(-12).
Passing
PC – Brody Wilkins 2-13-1-63, RJ Simpson 4-8-0-41. ES – JB Davis 7-16-1-92.
Receiving
PC – Styler Blackwell 3-84, Acer Eadus 1-11, Loreynzo Sanchez 2-9. ES – Zach Keener 4-60, Aiden Harpe 2-23, Braxton Davis 1-9.
