Two quarters of action at Friday, Aug. 16’s Border Showcase Classic IX, might be the jolt the Polk County High School Wolverines needed to begin their regular season this Friday, Aug. 23 when they host Shelby.

Game time is 7:30 p.m. With some key starters out hurt, Polk played gamely against AAAA Spartanburg, before bowing, 27-0.

That was one of three match ups at the event, hosted by Gaffney (SC) High School. The event is the brainchild of Polk head coach Bruce Ollis, who viewed this as a means of bringing together some of the top teams and players in the region.

Substituting at the starting quarterback, tight end and center spots, Ollis was both disappointed and heartened by what he saw overall.

“We wanted to perform at a higher level, but did a lot of things well,” said Ollis.

After Spartanburg scored two touchdowns in about as many minutes, the Wolverines held their opponents scoreless until late in the second quarter. Polk moved the ball, and the Wolverines’ defense forced Spartanburg to punt often, but Ollis’s squad couldn’t come up with a big play, or mount a substantial drive.

“We didn’t move the ball (well) offensively,” Ollis noted. “I was disappointed with our execution. (But) I’m impressed that we didn’t roll over … We’re going to have to sustain drives. It’s going to help us to be a ballcontrol football team.”

Ollis said while his team played hard against Spartanburg, execution could have been better.

“What you like is to be able to play hard and execute at the same level,” he noted. Ollis feels that “the playoff atmosphere (of the Border Showcase event) helps get some of the jitters out.”

One player from each team was honored as that squad’s most valuable player. For the Wolverines, that was Anthony Carson. This year, the Wolverines will face a number of formidable opponents. Shelby is one of those.

“Shelby,” predicts Ollis, “is going to be a very talented team. Win, lose or draw, we feel it will makes a better football team.”