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The start of the 2021 football season found Polk County Youth Football officials wondering if they’d be able to field a Termites team.

 

The end of the season had those same officials planning how to celebrate a championship Termites squad.

 

The PCYF Termites completed a remarkable season-long journey on Saturday, defeating Bethel 12-6 in the WNC Youth Football and Cheer Super Bowl held at Bethel Middle School.

 

The title victory capped a rise-from-the-ashes season for the 7-8 year-olds team, which missed its first three games due to low numbers and illnesses. ut when Rutherfordton’s youth football program had to cease operation due to a lack of players, it offered an opportunity for PCYF.

 

“Coach Logan from Rutherfordton contacted us because their football league had shut down,” said Termites coach Russell Wilson. “He wanted to know if we could combine teams to allow the kids from both counties to have a football season.

 

“Since WNC Youth Football allows for mid-season additions to add players to our teams, the coaches, parents and board members of PCYF scrambled and put in the extra hours to get all of the paperwork and weigh-ins completed.”

 

The Termites had just six practices together before facing Brevard, but won that game 24-8. The team then rolled through its remaining three regular-season opponents by a combined score of 122-8 to earn a postseason berth.

 

After winning by forfeit in the first round of the playoffs, the PCYF group edged West Henderson 8-6, then outlasted East Buncombe 18-12 in double overtime to reach Saturday’s final.

 

“It is amazing to me that in August, both teams didn’t seem to have a hope that football was going to happen for their 7-8 year olds,” Wilson said. “But now we are here discussing our Super Bowl season.

 

“There were more than enough valid reasons to throw in the towel and quit the season in August, but we chose to come together to persist and so we accomplished something amazing. For all of PCYF we estimate over 100 hours were put into this season by PCYF players, parents, coaches and volunteers.”

 

Josiah Hines was named the MVP of Saturday’s final, with Breeze Blankenship named the Offensive MVP. But Wilson said it truly took a team effort to win the game, which symbolized how the entire 2021 season unfolded.

 

“I am very proud of what we did this season and how it reflects who we are as a PCYF community,” he said. “Our achievements could not have been completed without the whole PCYF organization.

 

“It truly is a great day to be a Wolverine.”

 

PCYF Termites

 

Jamor “JJ” Logan

Ellis Searcy

Chaden Whiteside

Kannon Cooper

Gideon Dorma

Jayson Sharpton

Josiah Miller

Keira Finnigan

Breeze Blankenship

Kymani Fair

Mason Cole

Corey Sharpton

Kash Mitchell

Alonzo Gary

Isaac Whitley

Chase Ramsey

Bo Wilson

Wyatt Rich

Ezekiel Bullington

Gabe Bailes

Head coach: Russell Wilson

Assistants: AJ Bailes, Tylor Brown, John Cole, Dalvin Littlejohn, Jamor Logan, Kyerra Thomas, Michael Thomas

 

Submitted by polksports.com

 

Polk County Youth Football’s Termites (photo courtesy PCYF)