Wolverines fight back, top Chase on late score

Published 8:00 am Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Two fourth-down stops. Two long drives for touchdowns. One thrilling victory.

What Friday’s season opener at Chase occasionally lacked in execution more than delivered in terms of excitement, with Polk County rallying from a 12-point deficit to score the winning touchdown with 56.7 seconds left in a 31-28 victory over the Trojans at Allen Stadium.

The Wolverines fashioned fourth-quarter scoring drives of 78 and 90 yards — each coming after crucial fourth-down stops to halt Chase scoring threats — to secure Polk County’s fourth-straight win in the series, all in season-opening games.

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The latter of those stops, on the Polk 10-yard line, gave the Wolverines the ball with 5:47 remaining and a 28-23 deficit to overcome.

That Polk County did, marching 12 plays and reaching the end zone in the final minute, as Avery Edwards connected with Elijah Sutton on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Edwards tossed a 2-point conversion to Ryan Heider for good measure.

“I told them at halftime that if you get us the ball back with a chance to win it, we’ll win it,” said Polk County head coach Bruce Ollis. “Our kids persevered. Awfully proud of the way we stopped them there at the end and were able to drive the ball 90 yards and put the ball in the end zone.”

Though neither started the game in the backfield, Cameron Blackwell and Mitchell Yoder picked up key yardage all evening, including on the final drive. Blackwell had a 21-yard burst to move Polk away from its end zone, then picked up six yards on a third-and-4 at the Polk 38. Yoder’s 16-yard dash moved the Wolverines into Chase territory, and Polk finally reached the Trojan 15 with just over a minute to play.

The Wolverines took a timeout at that point, then returned with Sutton splitting out of the backfield and finding a seam in the Chase defense and haul in Edwards’ winning pass.

“We’ve still got a lot of improving to do, but when you can play less than your best and still win, that’s a pretty good sign,” Ollis said.

“We’ve got to eliminate mistakes and turnovers,” he said. “We gave up a few big plays. The field goal block, I think a lot of lesser teams may have cashed it in right there. I put my chin on my chest, I’m not going to lie.

“But we talked at halftime that, hey, we gotta buck up, we gotta put eyes in front of your face instead of behind.”

– Submitted by PolkSports.com