Wolverines make late plays to secure double-overtime win at Chase

Published 8:33 pm Sunday, August 21, 2016

1-Polk County senior Storm Wheeler looks for running room in Friday's win.

Polk County senior Storm Wheeler looks for running room in Friday’s win.

FOREST CITY – This time, Polk County got the last-minute play it needed.

A season of close losses where the Wolverines were often a break or two away from a reversal of outcome can now be tucked away and forgotten. Polk County opened its 2016 schedule Friday night with a 34-28 triumph over Chase in double overtime, winning the type of game that so often eluded the team last season.

Dillon Overholt’s 11-yard touchdown scamper through the heart of the Chase defense ended a game in which the two teams took markedly different routes to overtime. Polk County scored its three touchdowns in regulation on long, time-eating drives; Chase had two one-play scoring drives and a blocked punt returned for a third touchdown.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Save for those two lightning-bolt touchdowns, each long runs by state champion sprinter Bruce Squires, the Wolverine defense largely slowed Chase the entire game, then delivered a key stop in the second overtime to set the stage for Overholt’s winning gallop.

“They hurt us on the edge some, but for the most part in the end, we held them in check,” said Polk County head coach Jaime Thompson. “Last year, we lost a lot of close games. It’s nice to win one.

“We didn’t execute perfectly and we made some mistakes. The kids kept fighting hard, and in the end the kids wanted it and pushed through and found a way to win.”

The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, in which each team had four plays from the 10-yard line to score. Overholt powered in from 12 yards out for Polk, Chase quarterback Tyrece McSwain sprinted in from the 10, both kickers made their extra-point attempts and the teams reset for another extra period.

Chase had the ball first in the second session, and the Wolverines held the Trojans to two yards on their first two plays, then stopped Squires at the 3 on third down. Chase opted to attempt a field goal on fourth down, but a bobbled snap and hold delayed the kick enough for Polk County’s Storm Wheeler to race in and deflect the try.

2-Polk County’s Storm Wheeler blocks a Chase field goal attempt in the second overtime.

Polk County’s Storm Wheeler blocks a Chase field goal attempt in the second overtime.

After an incomplete pass and an exchange of penalties, Overholt dropped back as if to pass, then raced through a huge hole in the Chase defense to score almost untouched.

“We were not great up front offensively. . . but the kids rose to the challenge at the end,” Thompson said. “They sealed up the hole pretty good on that draw and Dillon mostly walked in.”

The game began with a bang – Squires swept to his right, beat a Polk County defender to the edge and then beat the rest of the Wolverines down the field, racing 66 yards for on the game’s first play to give Chase a 7-0 lead.

The Wolverines responded on their second possession, an 85-yard march that lasted almost six minutes. Chase helped prolong that drive with an offsides penalty on fourth-and-one at the Polk 24, the Wolverines having lined up to punt, before Overholt scrambled for 41 yards on a 3rd-and-13 from the 26. Polk capped the drive with a 24-yard screen pass from Overholt to Wheeler, the senior racing down the left sideline and into the end zone. Overholt than ran for the 2-point conversion to give Polk an 8-7 lead.

The advantage would last seconds. On Chase’s next play, Squires, the defending 2A 200-meter state champion, rolled around left end, made one cut and again outran the Polk defense. The 61-yard score and extra point gave the Trojans a 14-8 lead.

Squires had 127 yards on his first two carries. He unofficially had 18 yards on his final seven.

The Wolverines, though, answered with another long scoring drive, this one covering 69 yards and almost six minutes. Key to the drive was a fourth-and-3 play at the Chase 27 when Polk lined up in the unique formation it has becom known for, a mass of blockers to the left side of the field with a back behind them, a center, back and quarterback in the middle of the field and another receiver split to the right side. Overholt took the snap from Dillon Knighton, who slipped past a Chase defender, caught a pass in the middle of the field and weaved his way to the Trojan 6. Overholt scored a play later, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 14-14.

It stayed that way until the Wolverines’ first possession of the second half, when Polk marched 67 yards for the go-ahead score. Overholt opened the drive with a 30-yard pass to Landon White, then added a 10-yard completion to Josh Chupp. A penalty negated a Wheeler 25-yard touchdown run, but the Wolverines scored moments later as Jaymes Wingo took a direct snap and scored from the 5. Derkach added the extra point to give Polk a 21-14 lead.

Chase would tie the game early in the fourth quarter on a flukish play. On fourth-and-13 at the Polk 22, the Trojans deflected Wheeler’s punt attempt, the ball squirting near the line of scrimmage into the hands of burly defender Tylek Surratt, who rumbled 21 yards to the end zone. The extra point evened the score with 10:12 remaining.

Polk drove the Chase 11 on its next drive before turning the ball over on downs, and neither team would threaten again before overtime.

Unofficially, Overholt finished with 89 yards on 22 carries and Wheeler had 78 yards on 16 attempts for Polk. Overholt finished 4-for-12 for 95 yards passing.

“We did a lot of good things. For the most part, we moved the ball well,” Thompson said. “We told the kids after the game that this is why you play and this is why we coach.”

– Submitted by PolkSports.com