Burpeau lifts Warhorses to 17-14 victory over Polk
Owen opens Western Highlands Conference play with a gritty win on the road
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 20, 2025
There was 1:39 left on the clock in a 14-14 contest when Owen senior Hayden Burpeau measured his approach on a 40-yard field goal attempt that would give his team the lead in its Western Highlands Conference opener in Polk County.
As the ball came off the left foot of the kicker, Sept. 19, it sailed through the uprights, lifting the Warhorses to a 3-2 record and the program’s first victory over the Wolverines since 2019.
The game renewed a long-standing rivalry between the schools, with Polk County returning to the WHC after a six-year hiatus. Featured as the Friday Night Rivals matchup on My40 and broadcast on local WLOS affiliate platforms, the meeting between the Wolverines and Warhorses featured a pair of teams with identical 2-2 records.
The home offense established an early lead, when senior running back Loreynzo Sanchez, who finished the night 189 yards on the ground, scored a touchdown on a quick 43-yard run up the middle. Owen responded with a lengthy drive of its own, with junior quarterback Emmett Minks, running back Stephen Anderson and Burpeau leading the charge.
The Warhorses tied the score late in the first quarter, as Anderson fought his way into the end zone on a 1-yard attempt. Junior defensive back Emerson Autrey abruptly ended the subsequent Polk County drive with an interception that he returned to the 24-yard line.
The second quarter opened with an Owen conversion on fourth down, allowing Minks to roll to his right and find Anderson in the flat for a touchdown. Polk County replied with a drive that ended when junior Bear Dasher blocked a field goal attempt, and the Owen lead held as the teams went into the half.
The Wolverines stifled the Warhorses’ opening possession of the second half, while the offense capitalized on field position gained through a face masking penalty. A touchdown pass over the middle to Sanchez knotted the score, 14-14, with 3:16 remaining in the third.
Owen opened the final frame with the ball around the 50-yard line, turning it over on downs in the early minutes. The defense responded by stopping a Polk County drive near midfield, handing the ball back to Minks and the offense at their own 44.
A heavy dose of running plays, interrupted by a crucial first down reception on third down by sophomore Slade Gardner, was the recipe used by Owen on its final drive. Minks, Anderson, Burpeau and senior Haiden Small were all given opportunities, as the unit marched down to the 29.
Burpeau received a toss on second down and 20, following an Owen fumble recovery on the previous play, and picked up 7 yards. It was the same spot from which the team’s starting kicker, punter, running back and defensive back lined up for his potential game-winning field goal attempt, following an incompletion on third down.
As he approached the ball with a chance to put his team ahead in the final seconds, Burpeau was prepared for the moment.
“It’s just one of those things where, in practice, after school, during my first period, I go out and practice kicking,” he said. “You have to calm yourself and know how to handle the moment, even though you’re not in those moments a lot.”
When the ball sailed through the center of the uprights, the multi-position player only had one thought.
“Now we’ve got to go play defense,” Burpeau said.
Owen did just that, although the Wolverines picked up 30 yards on a run by sophomore quarterback Brody Wilkins. A personal foul on the Warhorses put their opponent on the 20-yard line with 44 seconds remaining, before a Gardner stop with 10 seconds remaining.
The home team lined up for a field goal attempt from its own 23, following a delay of game penalty. The Warhorse defenders sniffed out a fake attempt, breaking it up to clinch the victory. Anderson finished the night with a team-high 63 rushing yards.
“Guys, it was not pretty,” head coach John Faircloth said to his team after the game. “I’m including myself in that, and everybody associated with the program. We all tried to find a way to not win tonight, but what’s it take to win a game like this? We beat them up on special teams, and we executed when we had to.”
After the players and coaches were presented with the Friday Night Rivals trophy, they went into the locker room to celebrate and prepare for a triumphant bus ride home. Faircloth reflected on the significance of the victory for a re-emerging Owen football program.
“Since the conference realignment came about, I’ve heard so much about what the old Owen-Polk games used to look like,” he said. “So, for Kenny Ford, Nathan Padgett and all the guys before me, hopefully we made them proud.”
The rivalry resumed as Polk County High School celebrated homecoming in G.M. Tennant Stadium.
“The Little Big House is a tough place to win,” Faircloth said. “It’s my first win against Polk. I love Coach (Dustin Fry), as a person, and I have so much respect for his program.”
The Owen coach was confident in his versatile senior’s ability to put his team ahead with a late field goal attempt.
“I knew he had the leg, and I knew we could protect,” Faircloth said. “We practice those, as a team, three times a week. If everything held together, I was pretty confident it would go through the uprights.”
The coach is encouraged by his team’s performance through the first half of the season.
“I was optimistic that we would be in this position, but we got here a little differently than I thought we would,” Faircloth said. “I wouldn’t say it’s shocking, but realistically, I knew we could be playing winning football at this point.”
Close victories are “hard to come by,” he added, noting he wants his players to enjoy the moment.
“We’ll start watching film, as coaches, over the weekend, and come back to work on Monday,” Faircloth said. “We’ll try to fix ourselves, put together solid defensive and offensive game plans, keep working on special teams, and get ready to go to an extremely difficult place to play.”
The Warhorses will travel to Newland for a 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26 matchup against Avery County. The 1-3 Vikings will travel to Madison, Saturday, Sept. 20, to face Madison at 6:30 p.m., in a WHC matchup.
Photos of Owen’s 17-14 victory over Polk County can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.