MARSHALL — And now, the waiting begins.

Polk County did all it could do Friday to help its odds for a state 1A playoff berth, thumping Madison 48-23 in the final regular-season game for both teams.

On a cold, windy, misty evening, the Wolverines (3-8, 2-3) handled the Patriots (1-9, 0-4) in a workmanlike manner, building a 28-7 halftime lead and a 42-7 advantage in the third period before beginning to substitute liberally.

The state 1A playoff pairings will not be announced until Nov. 10 as many of the state’s eastern schools will not complete their seasons until next week due to delays caused by Hurricane Florence. Polk County’s postseason fate will rest in the code that is the MaxPreps Adjusted Ranking, the means that the North Carolina High School Athletic Association uses to determine at-large playoff berths.

The Wolverines began the week ranked 40th among state 1A schools, a rating that should be high enough to earn Polk a first-round playoff trip somewhere.

“A great way to end our regular season on a high note,” said Polk County head coach Bruce Ollis. “We’ll probably be on the road somewhere, but we were a pretty good road team tonight.

“We did so many things well. We read the option well, we threw and caught the ball well. Ryan Heider got a big touchdown catch. Bryce Jergenson made a great play on a little body move there on a fourth-down play for a touchdown.

“We did some things tonight we haven’t done consistently all year long, and that was the talk all week long. Let’s play like the Polk County team we thought we could be, and I think we did that tonight.”

– Submitted by PolkSports.com