An “inadvertent whistle” by an official negated a Polk fumble recovery deep in Shelby territory
Polk’s quarterback Alec Philpott was sacked four times in the opening half, receiving a concussion with four minutes left in the half. Philpott didn’t return to the game.
“You don’t want to make excuses, but he is the warrior of our football team,” Ollis said. “Certainly, when he went down that hurt, but Reece (Schlabach) came in and did a great job.”
Shelby was led by a 171-yard, two-touchdown rushing effort by junior Jaquvis Brooks. Quarterback Spencer Clark had 196 passing and two touchdown runs. The Golden Lions limited Polk to 65 yards rushing on the night.
In reflecting on the season and his players, Coach Ollis said, “(We had a) great group of young men, six seniors that contributed a lot to the success of this program over the last three years. I am proud to be associated with them and be their coach. I’ll miss these guys.”
One of the bright spots for Polk on the night was Jamal Tanner’s 93-yard kickoff return in the third quarter for the Wolverines first score. Schlabach later connected with Anthony Carson on a pass for the final Polk score in the fourth quarter.
Polk ended the season with a record of 9-4 overall and 5-2 in Western Highlands Conference Play.