Ethan Edwards is definitely not ready to see Polk County Middle’s football season come to an end.
Certainly not after the Wolverines followed last week’s win at division-leading Rugby with a 32-0 thrashing Thursday of Hendersonville Middle in Polk’s regular-season finale at Utz Field.
It marked the third straight victory for Polk Middle after an 0-3 start, and it earned the Wolverines the third seed in the Blue Ridge Conference East Division. Polk will host Canton, the third seed from the West, in a postseason game tentatively set for Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Get PolkSports delivered to your inbox
Sign up for our free newsletter →
The Wolverines dropped a 24-22 decision at Canton in the season opener. No doubt Polk will welcome a rematch given its recent run of success.
“We’re playing well enough that our guys think we’re the best team in the conference, which is a good thing,” said Polk Middle head coach Ethan Edwards.
“At the 0-3 mark, we could see the pieces coming together. Our kids are still interested in working hard, they’re still interested in learning, they’re still ready to produce, and things started turning our way.”
Things went Polk Middle’s way from the start Thursday. On the Wolverines’ first play, quarterback Hollis Williams rolled around left end, only to be seemingly pinned against the sideline by Hendersonville’s defense. Williams instead juked, shimmied, escaped and eventually wound up racing down the right sideline for a 51-yard touchdown, giving Polk an early 6-0 lead.
RJ Simpson added to the lead with a 5-yard scoring run with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. Polk then got the ball back at its 35 with less than two minutes remaining and needed just one play to score again, Williams lofting a pass down the middle of the field to Kayden Pressley, who outran two defenders to the end zone.
Williams added the 2-point conversion to put Polk up 20-0 at the half.
The Wolverines continued to dominate in the final two quarters, with Andy Serrano scoring on a 6-yard run and Williams bowling over a defender at the goal line on a 7-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.
“This is one of the most talented backfields I’ve ever had, without a doubt,” Edwards said. “When you have Hollis and you have RJ and you have Andy all back there at the same time, middle schools just don’t get that.
“And then when we sub in Riley Morgan, we don’t drop much.”
Now Polk will get a final home game and a chance to close the season with a four-game winning streak. The Wolverines would also love to best the Bears, who have won three straight against Polk, each by two points.
“Sometimes you just wish that you could reverse your season, start out like this and what could it be?” Edwards said. “The way our conference worked out, we ended up a three seed. But, very easily, one or two games are different and we’re a one seed.
“We had some injuries prior to the season, we had a lot of holes, we had a lot of kids that hadn’t played before. We had some kids that were on the fence about being all in. So at the beginning of the season, things were shaky.
“Once we got our whole band together, I’m in with the kids. I think we’re the best team in the conference.”
