Polk County football coach Bruce Ollis does not like the moniker “red zone” that is used to describe the 20 yards closest to the end zone.

“I call it the green zone, because red means ‘stop,’” Ollis said.

On Friday night, at East Henderson High School’s E.L. Justus Field, the Wolverines were stopped on several occasions as they were in the red zone or neared the Eagles’ end zone.

Several penalties and a turnover stalled drives, which led to the Wolverines dropping their third straight game with a 20-13 loss to the Eagles.

East Henderson’s win broke a seven-game losing skid to the Wolverines dating back to 1994.

For Polk County, it was another game where it dominated much of the action and still lost a tight contest.

The Wolverines ran 80 plays and had 336 rushing yards. They finished with 366 total offensive yards, compared to 288 (on 41 plays) by East Henderson.

“We played so well,” Ollis said. “I told our team that, if they gave trophies for running the ball between the 20s, we’d have a trophy case full. We’ve got to find a way to finish.”

Polk County (1-3) had two players rush for more than 100 yards, as Mitchell Yoder had 114 on nine carries and Camron Blackwell finished with 104 rushing yards on 23 carries. Tipton finished with 60 rushing yards and Edwards had 40, including a fourth-down scamper that ended as he bowled over a defender.

“We executed what we thought we had to win the game. We kept it away from their explosive players,” Ollis said. “We did exactly what we had to do to win. We’ve just got to clean up a few things.”

The defense had a good night, too, as it forced two fumbles and had a series where it had three sacks.

“I told these guys that they have to keep believing,” Ollis said. “That’s why the good Lord put eyes in the front of our head and not in the back of our heads, that’s so we can look forward.

“One of my favorite sayings is ‘FIDO’ — you’ve got to ‘forget it and drive on.’ We’ll look at what we did positively and rectify what we didn’t do well, and give Pisgah all they can handle at our place next week.”

– Submitted by PolkSports.com