NATCHEZ — Nobody was going to stop Shane Pollen from suiting up again after he left the field for the last time in an Adams County Christian School uniform.

Pollen knew he was talented enough and knew there was a place for him at the next level. Unfortunately for him, some didn’t think the same way.

“I played at ACCS the whole time I was in high school,” Pollen said. “I didn’t have any scholarships, but I wanted to keep playing.”

Pollen headed to Pearl River Community College in hopes of continuing his career as a Wildcat, but was disappointed when he found out there was not a spot on the team for him.

“I ended up getting cut there,” he said. “Most people, after they get cut, they are done. They told me I would probably never be anything for anybody else, so that motivated me.”

Pollen took those words and ran with them.

He returned home where he continued to workout and stay in shape, still not giving up on the dream he had for so long.

“When I came home it was tough going a year without football,” Pollen said. “Having to do all the working out and pushing myself was tough. It was hard on the mind too, knowing you are good enough to be somewhere, and you should be somewhere, but you just got overlooked.”

But Pollen wouldn’t be overlooked for long; Holmes Community College came looking.

Now, Pollen is a part of a collegiate roster, where he plays tight end and also a bit of tackle.

“It was a relief,” he said of hearing he made the team. “But all I could do was thank God. That was my main thing. The whole time I just stayed faithful, kept believing in myself and what I was doing. It is a hard feeling to describe.”

Being able to play football was one thing for Pollen, but being able to do it at this level is a dream come true.

“It has been a dream since I started playing football in the third grade,” he said. “I didn’t take the road most people take, getting a scholarship and having the easy way. Nobody knew who I was. Yeah, I did good in high school, but I wasn’t really that big of a thing.”

Pollen will try to become more than just another face for a Holmes team that is coming off a win over Hinds Community College this past Thursday, and what better way to do it than against the team that once told him no.

“They are going to see me on the field,” Pollen said of Pearl River. “We get them this week.”

Pollen will continue to develop his game at the junior college level, but said that it will not be his peak.

“I would like to get some playing time, which I will,” he said. “I look forward to moving to the next level. It is junior college, and I don’t want it to end here.”