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By Jed Blackwell

 

Polk County soccer coach George Alley stepped away from a postgame interview to say the one thing he’d told his team he wanted to say to them after Tuesday’s playoff match against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy.

“I’ll see you at practice tomorrow.”

Polk County took a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Gryphons and will advance to host Bishop McGuinness, a 2-1 overtime winner over Avery County. That match is set for Thursday at a time to be announced.

“That’s probably one of my most satisfying wins,” Alley said. “We went up a couple of goals, and then they got one at the end of the half, and we were able to kind of withstand an onslaught. They’re so well-organized, good on the ball, tough, they’re just a really good team.

“For us to beat a really good team really gives our kids some confidence. I’m really proud of them.”

The Wolverines dominated the early going, particularly behind the play of Thomas Varnadore and Mason Hudson. Both helped Polk County dictate the run of play in the Thomas Jefferson half for the first 20 minutes of the contest, and both had a hand in an early 2-0 Wolverines lead.

Hudson put Polk County on the board first with a strike at the 27:30 mark, and Varnadore set up a score six minutes later. He was fouled and drew a free kick, which Nate Martinez curled just past the keeper and in the left corner for a two-goal advantage for the Wolverines.

“They controlled the pace of play,” Alley said of Varnadore and Hudson. “We were trying to stay out of the middle, because Thomas Jefferson is really tough to deal with, and we were trying to lock them down and attack their flanks. We were kind of having our way, and we had them on their heels. I don’t think anyone has been up on them that quick. But then they found their footing.”

When Thomas Jefferson was finally able to press the action into the Polk County end, the Wolverines’ defense continued to come up big. Polk County defenders turned away a number of chances, and Charlie Wagoner

made a couple of key saves. The Gryphons’ only goal came on a penalty kick after Wagoner was called for a foul in the box on a loose ball, and Parker Marshall buried the attempt in the bottom right corner to make the score 2-1 at the 5:01 mark.

The second half was wild.

Thomas Jefferson began to turn up the pressure offensively, creating several opportunities. Wagoner had a save at 36:54, the Gryphons missed a shot high at 31:40, Wagoner made another save at 28:18, and Thomas Jefferson narrowly missed a back-heel attempt at 25:45.

And then, just when it seemed like Thomas Jefferson was seconds away from erasing the lead entirely, Polk County doubled it. A good run resulted in a corner kick for the Wolverines, and Cooper Meyer cashed in, scoring to make it 3-1 at the 2417 mark.

Thomas Jefferson answered almost immediately as Tanner Richards hammered a shot from nearly 30 yards to pull the Gryphons back to within a goal at 3-2.

But Polk County wasn’t done. The Wolverines played a beautiful ball downfield, and Meyer collected it and banged it home for a 4-2 lead at the 20:53 mark. The Wolverines needed it, as River Harrill answered four minutes later for Thomas Jefferson to trim it to 4-3. However, Polk County was able to run out the clock and secure the win.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for them as a program, and to take on a team like that and get a playoff win is big for us,” Alley said.