“We couldn’t play dead in a cowboy movie in the first half,” Mustang coach Bryan Lee said. “I don’t know if it was the long trip or the veer option attack. It could have been the coaching. I’ve never coached against the veer. That team (Polk) is as good a team as we’ve faced all season. They run that veer to perfection.”
Polk County, out of the Southern Foothills Confe-rence, entered the playoffs sporting a 10-1 mark and a team of quick, large players. The only loss for Polk came at the hands of conference rival Maiden, the state’s second-ranked team.
The Wolverines was given a fourth seed, while North Moore earned a 13th seed in the state 1-AA playoffs.
Despite the long trip to the southwest of Charlotte, the Mustangs started the game with a time-consuming drive that ate up nearly seven minutes of clock before bogging down on the Wolverines’ seven-yard line.
But on the first play from scrimmage, fullback Michael Gossenreiter went 93 yards for the score.
The Wolverines would go on to score on three of the first five plays they had the ball on the way to a 35-0 halftime lead.
“We ran off seven minutes on the first possession and I was thinking that’s good,” Lee said. “Then they go 93 yards to score on the first play they have the ball and we knew we would have our hands full.”
Quarterback Martin Edney scored on an 80-yard dash, Justin Jackson went 41 yards for a score and Daniel McIntyre went 36 yards for a score to give the Wolverines a 28-0 lead. With seconds left in the first half, Edney hit Jarvis Garrett for a 43-yard score to bring in the 35-0 halftime score.
In the first half, Polk County churned out 281 yards rushing and ended the half with 324 yards of total offense. The Mustangs slowed the Polk attack a bit in the second half, holding them to just 106 yards of offense.
After Polk County had gone up 48-0, the Mustangs finally got on the scoreboard with a 33-yard scoring pass from Willis Barrett to Mike Person.
Jordan Phillips added the extra point.
Through the air was the best weapon for the Mustangs against the quick and aggressive Wolverine defense.
Barrett ended the evening completing 11 of 27 passes for 140 yards. He threw three interceptions. Person did much of the receiving, finishing with 110 yards gained.
The Wolverines shut down the Mustangs rushing attack, allowing just 53 yards on 25 carries.
“They put nine men in the box and then said they could cover Person with just one man. They did a pretty good job of it,” Lee said.
Still, Lee said the Mustangs had nothing to be ashamed of. The Mustangs ended the season with a 6-5 mark, the first winning season for any county school in the last five years.
“It’s been a good season,” Lee said. “We played a great team. Our players didn’t give up. I’ll miss the seniors and not just because of football. They are just fun to be around. I’ve really enjoyed coaching these kids.”
There are 17 seniors on this year’s team. Playing their last games for the Mustangs were Barrett, Person, Phillips, Nate Myers, Dale Williams, Walt Brower, Jeremy Rickman, Cam Thomas, Houston Brady, Deon Covington, Jody Britt, David Diaz, Justin Spencer, Frank Smith, Tyreece Chisholm, Lawrence Shamberger and Joe Branson.
