It isn’t welcome, but preparing for Landrum with a sub-.500 record isn’t an unfamiliar feeling this week for Polk County’s football team.

In each of the past three seasons, the Wolverines have geared up for their border rivals with a tough non-conference schedule reflected in their won-loss record. Three years ago, Polk entered with an 0-3 mark; the Wolverines have taken a 1-2 record into their last two meetings with the Cardinals.

So as Polk County prepares for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff in the latest Battle of the Belt, there’s no sense of panic in the Wolverine locker room – just a quiet determination to get back on a winning track.

“It’s familiar, but it’s different,” said Polk County head coach Jamie Thompson of the 1-2 start. “This is a rivalry game, and you can forget about who’s better wins and losses wise.

“The team that can block out the rivalry and play with focus and composure and perform like they’re capable of performing, that’s the team that’s going to have the upper hand.”

Adding to the emotion of the evening, Polk County will officially dedicate W.J. Miller Field, in honor of former Polk County Schools Superintendent William J. Miller, in a pregame ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. A separate halftime ceremony will officially dedicate the renaming of the stadium as G.M. Tennant Stadium to honor school board chairman and longtime community benefactor Geoffrey M. Tennant.

Key for Polk County’s hopes in Friday’s game will be turning in-game offensive success into points. The Wolverines had three scoreless trips inside the 10-yard line against North Henderson and three scoreless trips inside the 30-yard line in last week’s loss at R-S Central.

“By this point, we’re starting to figure out our strong points as a team, and we’re going to try to exploit them while improving upon our weak points,” Thompson said.

“We’ve moved the football well this year, though Friday night not as well as we have earlier in the season. We’ve played good defense, for the most part. We’re tackling well. We can play better up front offensively than we have been.”

Polk County would not only like to even its record at 2-2, but avenge last season’s 24-21 loss at Landrum. But Thompson is trying to keep the Wolverines focused on the bigger chase that begins in two weeks.

“It’s a big game,” he said, “but not as important as a conference game in the big picture.”

– article submitted by PolkSports.com