Scouting the Wolverines:
The Polk County Wolverines are led by seventh-year veteran head coach Bruce Ollis (141-105 overall record, 58-24 at Polk). Polk advanced to the state 1A playoffs a season ago, losing 20-14 to Hendersonville in the first round.
In its rich history the Wolverines have made ten playoff appearances since 1972 and is 6-10 all time in postseason play. The Wolverines have won at least 10 games in four of the past five seasons, marking the best five-year period in school history.
Polk returned six starters on both sides of the football to open the season, but lost one of them in quarterback J.P. Ruth when he fractured his hand in three places in the team’s loss to Chase.
The loss of Ruth compounded the other holes that the team needed to fill at season’s dawn, as all-conference players Derrick Overholt and Regis Bittle were among players lost to graduation from last season’s conference championship squad.
Three weeks into the season, Polk reverted from the spread offense to a run-heavy option style of offense, using the talented feet of coach’s son senior Jordan Ollis (102 rushes, 396 yards, 7 TD) to set the pace. However in recent weeks, the team has went more to a balanced blend of run and pass, as Ollis has gotten comfortable in the pocket (54 of 114 passing, 787 yards, 4 TD, 6 INT).
Senior wide receiver Kamron Kerr has remained a constant in the Polk offensive attack, racking up 31 receptions for 416 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season. Sophomore wide receiver Andre Overholt has seen his playing time and contributions increase of late, catching 10 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown (caught last week at Mitchell).
The Wolverine defense has proven stern through the season to date, surrendering only 13.5 points per game in 2008.
Nine of the 11 defensive starters ran 4.7 40-yard dashes or better at the start of the season, but the lack of defensive girth could hurt Polk in a smashmouth contest. The Wolverines will employ multiple defensive looks in an attempt to compensate for their weaknesses.
“We’re very multiple defensively” Polk head coach Bruce Ollis told a Hendersonville newspaper during summer camp. “You’ll see us in five-man fronts, six-man fronts, four-man fronts, multiple coverages and we also do a lot of stunting. One thing we like to do is keep people guessing on both sides of the ball.”
Leading tackler Ollis is anchored at linebacker and Kerr has developed into a frontline playmaker at the free safety position.
The Low Down:
For Avery to pull out a victory on Friday night, they will need to establish its power running game. The Vikings unveiled a new power-I formation offensively last week using three bruising backs in the backfield in Zac Hall, Jon Clark, and Cole Blackburn.
The Vikings had early success running this tandem on the Bearcats last week, but was unable to sustain the attack once the team trailed on the scoreboard.
Defensively, Avery must do a similar job of limiting the speed of Polk as it did in the first half of last Friday’s loss to Hendersonville. Pass defense has to improve should Polk quarterback Ollis choose to take to the air, however.
The Big Red must also avoid turning the football over, especially on its own end of the field as Hendersonville made Avery pay for its mistakes in last week’s loss.
By the Numbers:
2 – rushing touchdowns by Polk County QB Jordan Ollis in last week’s victory over Mitchell.
3- number of successful third down conversions by Avery (out of 11 attempts) in last week’s loss to Hendersonville.
5 – number of completions by Avery quarterbacks in last week’s contest for a total of 83 yards.
37- rushing attempts by the Vikings last week against Hendersonville.
47- rushing yards by Avery’s Cole Blackburn to lead the Vikings last week.
110 – receiving yards by Polk WR Andre Overholt in last week’s win over Mitchell.
215 – number of passing yards by Polk County quarterback Austin Ollis last week.
