For some of Polk County Youth Football’s PeeWees, Saturday’s Mid-Atlantic Carolinas American Youth Football & Cheer Conference championship game will mark their fifth straight league final. No matter the age level, this group of players has grown accustomed to seeing their seasons end with a Super Bowl appearance.
And the run of success has instilled a common trait in the group, according to head coach Steve Blatt.
“They’ve learned how to win,” Blatt said, “and they like it.”
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The PCYF PeeWees will look to repeat as MACAYF champions on Saturday night, facing Kings Mountain in an 8 p.m. game at R-S Central. The PCYF Mitey Mites will also look to successfully defend their league title, facing Kings Mountain at 1:30 p.m. at R-S Central.
Both teams will be striving to continue the winning tradition that has become a staple of Polk County Youth Football. Teaching success, as well as life lessons, was one of the goals that Blatt said his uncle, Nate Philpott, had in mind when he started PCYF. And that vision, along with some help from Polk County High head coach Bruce Ollis, is what Blatt credits as guiding the program to where it is today.
“It’s gratifying to come from where we started at, nickel and diming everything,” Blatt said. “Most of the stuff Nate paid for out of his own pocket, and he probably never got any part of that money back.
“We’ve gone through a lot of change over the years, especially in the level of competition we play. When Bruce came in. . . he told Nate that he would like to see us playing better competition. We started playing teams toward Gastonia, and it has worked out for the better. We see faster kids and we see bigger kids. These kids are then more prepared when they go to middle school and that level not be a tremendous shock.”
That hard work and success has also resulted in increased interest in the program, which this year led to record numbers of players and cheerleaders. Of course, winning three of the league’s four championships last season didn’t hurt, either.
“Winning helps,” Blatt said. “When you’re losing, people don’t come back and you don’t attract new kids to the program.”
Also helping PCYF’s growth has been a lack of turnover among coaches, which in turn has allowed staff to maintain similar offensive and defensive systems as the kids have aged.
“Consistency has played a role,” Blatt said. “We’re still running plays with 12-year-olds that they ran when they were five. We’re still teaching defensive ends how to play defensive end like we did when they were seven and eight and still teaching linebackers how to play linebacker like we did when they were seven and eight.
“Coach Ollis’ base offense is the veer, and we try to teach our quarterback and linemen how to run some veer plays. That way it won’t be foreign to them when they get there.”
Blatt has been involved with PCYF since his uncle began the program, but Saturday’s game will mark his last outing as due to other responsibilities, he is stepping away from coaching. He admits that no matter the result, the ending will be bittersweet.
“I’ve seen these kids grow up. They’re like my own kids,” he said. “My son plays, but the rest of them are like my sons, too.
“We’ve also had a group of tremendous, tremendous parents. Without the parents supporting them, we wouldn’t be where we are, either. They’re awesome. Over the years, the community support has been tremendous. Whether it’s donations or buying raffle tickets or letting us shake buckets in front of a business or donations from a business, the community has really supported us well.”
Polk defeated Kings Mountain 21-14 earlier this season, but Blatt expects a tough fight in the rematch. He also expects his veteran group to be ready for it.
“They’re athletic. They’ve got more speed than we do,” he said of Kings Mountain. “But I feel real good about our kids being ready. If we go down there and do what we do best and don’t turn the ball over, I think we’ll be OK.
“We’re not loaded with speed. We’re not loaded with size. When these kids were on the 8-year-olds, they weren’t supposed to win. The next year when they were 9, we kind of snuck up on everybody. When they were 10, everybody expected them to win. When they were 11, it was kind of a tossup. You never know whether other teams have a lot of 12-year-olds or a lot of 11-year-olds.
“This year they’ve come to practice and they’ve listened and they’ve played with tremendous heart and desire to win.”
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