It’s all too common to hang around high school football teams and hear coaches talk about the importance of every play.
Go all out on every play, coaches will say, because you never know if your effort on one play might be the difference in a win or a loss.
Polk County’s 34-32 win Friday over Chase offered a perfect illustration of that thinking. While Loreynzo Sanchez deservedly grabbed headlines with his 390 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, his effort might not have been part of a winning effort were it not for some plays throughout the game that also proved vital to the outcome:
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- Chase took the opening kickoff of the second half and began steadily driving downfield. The Trojans reached the Polk 23 and dropped quarterback Darin Tipton back to pass on first down.
From Tipton’s blind side raced Wolverine Zach McCraw, who reached Tipton and sacked him for a 14-yard loss. Pushed back to the 37, the Trojans had incomplete passes on their next three plays and punted, preserving Polk’s 19-18 lead at the time.
- Following Sanchez’ 89-yard touchdown run, giving Polk a 27-18 lead, the Wolverines kicked off. The Chase returner found a seam and seemed bound for the end zone until Polk kicker Blake Anderson, the last line of defense, raced over and shoved the returner out of bounds.
The Trojans still wound up scoring on that possession, but they needed an extra minute to do so, and every second proved vital for the Wolverines.
- With Polk up 34-32, Chase took possession at its 34 with 9:07 remaining in the game and began marching downfield. The Trojans reached the Polk 31, where they faced a key 3rd-and-8.
As Tipton dropped back to pass, Polk’s Acer Eadus slipped through the line of scrimmage and moved toward Tipton. Eadus was able to reach toward Tipton and knock the ball out of his hands as he prepared to pass.
Chase recovered, but the Trojans faced a fourth-and-16 and failed to convert. Polk regained possession and never surrendered it.
- Each team scored five touchdowns. Polk County had three successful extra-point attempts, with Anderson kicking two point afters and Sanchez running for a 2-point conversion.
Chase, though, failed on its first four 2-point attempts before finally converting its last try – meaning the extra points ultimately proved the deciding factor in the game.
Those little things proved awfully big for Polk County.
VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE: Polk County’s volleyball team will face one of its stiffest tests of the season on Wednesday.
The Wolverines will host Asheville Christian Academy, currently owning an 8-0 record. The Lions enter with wins over Brevard, Hendersonville and A.C. Reynolds, that last one a 3-2 win on Thursday.
ACA hitters Reese Shuman and Caroline Peterson lead the Lions, who have won two NCISAA state titles in the past three years.
It will mark the second defending state champion that Polk has faced this season, with the Wolverines already having battled West Henderson.
AROUND THE WHC: On the football field, a big win Friday for Madison in its season opener against Andrews. New head coach Ronald Tipton has preached about the need for the Patriots to return to a physical approach, and that certainly seemed the case Friday as Madison ran 39 times for 345 yards while attempting just 11 passes. Ivan Leonard and Triston Massey each topped 100 yards as Madison recorded its first shutout since 2022. . . A bit of happiness returned to Swannanoa as Owen scored a 35-0 win over Rosman. It’s the first season-opening win for the Warhorses since 2020. . . Mountain Heritage romped to a 48-19 win over Pisgah, so perhaps the retirement of longtime head coach Joey Robinson didn’t slow the program after all.
Led by junior do-everything-well athlete Mia Roland, Owen’s volleyball team is off to a 4-0 start and hasn’t dropped a set. The Warhorses will host Polk County on Thursday in the conference opener for both schools. Roland currently leads the Western Highlands in hitting percentage . . Avery junior Caroline Hollifield has already piled up 61 kills in four matches as the Vikings are off to a 3-1 start. . . Hendersonville sits at 3-3 thanks in part to a challenging non-conference schedule, the Bearcats having lost to Asheville, Asheville Christian Academy and West Henderson.
Consensus is that Hendersonville and Owen will be the leading challenges for the WHC boys soccer title, with Polk County in the mix as well. The Bearcats notched a 1-0 win over West Henderson before dropping a tough 1-0 decision to a good Thomas Jefferson side. . . Owen also sits at 1-1 after opening the season with a 4-1 loss to Brevard. The Warhorses then hammered East Henderson 6-1 – Polk County will host the Eagles on Monday.
THE FRENZY RETURNS: Miss Friday night football highlights? Here is WLOS’ Week 1 Friday Football Frenzy:
