The Polk County Wolverines celebrated homecoming in style Friday night at the Little Big House, treating the visiting Gryphons of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy to an old-fashioned 48-27 beat down on a gorgeous autumn evening in front of a large crowd of enthusiastic fans.
Although the Gryphons, winless in nine outings this season, were never a match for the Polk County juggernaut, the visitors from Mooresboro managed to make a game of it through much of the first quarter.
After Cary Littlejohn’s TD plunge on Polk’s opening drive put the Wolverines up by six, quarterback Mack Martin answered the bell on the Gryphon’s first possession, connecting with 6’6” wideout Travis Waldroup-Rodriguez for a 4-yard TD strike to put TJCA back on top 7-6 with 4:28 remaining in the first stanza.
The Gryphons had little time to savor the lead, however, as Littlejohn, aka “the fastest man in the mountains,” took the ensuing kickoff at the 10 and, 14 seconds later, raced across the TJ goal line for a 90 yard touchdown return to put the Wolverines back on top 14-7.
With the lead in hand, Polk would never look back, taking a 35-14 advantage into the locker room at halftime. A Wolverine touchdown midway through the third quarter gave Polk the 41-14 lead, prompting head coach Bruce Ollis to empty the benches.
En route to the win, the Wolverines set two new Polk County school records, gaining 426 yards on the ground and racking up a monstrous 488 total yards overall.
Key contributors to the offensive onslaught included QB Alec Philpott, who carried 10 times for 157 yards and a TD, and Littlejohn, who rushed 17 times for 183 yards and four TDs.
Philpott added 62 more yards through the air, including connecting three times with Joel Booker for 30 yards.
“I was very pleased with our offensive performance,” said Ollis. “Cary Littlejohn had another stellar evening, and has gone over  1,000 yards for the season, which is a pretty big deal – it’s the first time in quite a while that we have had a tailback go over a 1,000 yards rushing.”
With the victory, Polk improves to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in conference competition, putting the team into a three-way tie for the top spot in the WHC with Hendersonville, who crushed Owen 41-17, and Mitchell, who eked out yet another narrow victory, besting Mountain Heritage 31-28.
This Friday, the Wolverines travel to the menacing confines of Shuford Field in Black Mountain to take on the Warhorses of Owen High School in front of what figures to be a large and boisterous crowd.