2002: The Tornadoes traveled to Greyhound Hollow and whipped the Hounds, 27-6, one day after several members of the Statesville varsity football team had vandalized Hickory High's school building and stadium with spray paint. The perpetrators were caught and 11 of them, including six starters, were suspended for the game. Sophomore kicker Ryan Succop gave the Tornadoes an early 3-0 lead on his 38-yard field goal to cap Hickory's opening drive. Statesville took a 6-3 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter on Walter Horne's 63-yard run. The PAT was blocked.
Hickory quarterback Cole Kenworthy, who had been flawless the week before in a huge win over East Burke, was not having his best game against Statesville. So with the offense stalled somewhat it was Succop who came in and tied the game up with a 33-yard field goal just before the end of the first quarter.
The turning point in the game occurred late in the first half as the Greyhounds were driving to take the lead. Statesville's junior tailback Cam Simpson, who ended the game with 101 yards rushing, his third-straight game with 100+ yards, fumbled on the Hickory 13. The Red Tornadoes recovered with 36 seconds remaining in the half. Kenworthy hit senior split end Brent Johnson for a 5-yard completion, and before the Hounds could bring him down, Johnson pitched to a streaking Desmond Burch. He went the final 65 yards for a touchdown. The 72-yard hook-and-lateral play was the first touchdown Statesville had surrendered so far in the 2002 season. Their two victories had both been shutouts. Succop's kick made the halftime score 13-6.
Hickory's Kejuan Wright padded the lead in the third quarter on touchdown runs of nine and three yards. The first PAT was blocked but Kenworthy made it up on the last touchdown by hitting tight end Will Baker for the two-point conversion to make the final score 27-6. Statesville could only gain 81 total yards in the second half and the Hounds never threatened again.
2003: In John Worley's second game as Hickory's new head coach the Red Tornadoes hosted the Greyhounds on August 29th. The Tornadoes were in a foul mood after losing a heartbreaker to East Burke the week before and made things tough for the visitors, keeping them off the scoreboard in a 21-0 romp.
Kejuan Wright was the game's leading rusher with 91 yards but it was Alex Wilson who did most of the scoring damage on that night. In the first quarter Wilson caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Rogers. In the second quarter it was Wilson finding the end zone again, this time on a 22-yard run. Fullback Paul Martin got on the board in the third quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run. Ryan Succop nailed all three of his PATs. Both teams turned the ball over four times and Hickory had twice as many penalty yards as Statesville. But Hickory also outrushed Statesville 214-54.
This was Coach John Worley's first victory. His record now stands at 48-15 (76%).
2004: For the second year in a row the Red Tornadoes suffered a season-opening loss to East Burke. And once again the Statesville Greyhounds bore the brunt of Hickory's frustration. Statesville's hotshot quarterback Brandon McLain was knocked out of the game in the first half and was unable to return. The Tornadoes piled up a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised to a final score of 28-6.
Junior tailback Carlos Shade had a great night in his second game as the team's top running back. Shade finished with 163 yards and two touchdowns (9 and 11 yards, repectively) on 24 carries (6.8 yards per carry). Fullback Kevin Odom scored from two yards out in the first quarter and Alex Wilson was on the receiving end of a 58-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Patrick Shelton. Like Shade this was Shelton's second start on the varsity. Shelton's numbers on this night were 6-10-0 for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Just as he had done a couple of years earlier, Walter Horne spoiled Hickory's shutout bid when he broke loose for a 78-yard touchdown run late in the final period. Another oddity of this contest was the presence of former Tornado head coach David Elder on the Statesville sideline as a Greyhound assistant coach. Elder would leave the Greyhound staff after the season ended.
2005: For the first time in over a decade the Red Tornadoes opened their season against the Greyhounds. The final result, however, was similar to the previous three games as Hickory flirted with a shutout before giving up a fluke touchdown in a 33-7 victory.
Senior cornerback Greg Covington got the night started just right when he got the "pick 6" on the second play of the game. He returned the interception 31 yards for a touchdown. Hickory's new kicker, junior San San Te booted the PAT for a quick 7-0 lead.
The Tornadoes continued to pile up the points in the second quarter. Carlos Shade, who racked up 80 yards on just eight attempts, scored on a 23-yard run. After Hickory blocked a Statesville punt (the Tornadoes blocked two punts in the game), split end Donovan Maddox hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Shelton. San San continued to kick extra points and Hickory took a 21-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Statesville's Corey Alexander put his team on the board when he picked up a Hickory fumble and scooted 62 yards for a touchdown. A successful PAT made the score 21-7.
In the second half the reserves filtered into the game, among them sophomore tailback Darrien Burch. With Shade sidelined with leg cramps, Burch made the most of his opportunity and showed his speed on a 56-yard touchdown run, his first varsity score. There would be plenty more...
Covington ended the game as he had started it - with a touchdown. Going in to play tailback he wound up busting off a 28-yard run. This was the beginning of a 6-0 start in Hickory's first year in the CVAC.
2006: The Tornadoes took a trip to Statesville to open the season and this time managed to hold onto a shutout as they routed the Greyhounds by a score of 30-0. Darrien Burch had a good night, picking up 142 yards on 25 carries. Statesville, on the other hand, only managed 36 yards rushing for the game. Junior linebacker Austin "Bruiser" Johnson was all over the young Greyhounds and they never really threatened Hickory's end zone. As a fullback Johnson opened the scoring with a touchdown run of two yards.
Darrien Burch scored his touchdown on a 5-yard run and San San Te successfully kicked both PATs for a 14-0 first quarter lead. After a scoreless second quarter the Red Tornadoes successfully experimented with the passing game as quarterback Jordan Wilson connected with Scottie Propst on a 46-yard touchdown pass. The defense contributed to the score by nailing Statesville's Justin Knox in the end zone for a safety.
In the final period reserve fullback Lamar Dixon plowed into the end zone from one yard out. San San Te was successful on all his PATs. The game also marked the varsity debut of sophomore tailback Kyshell Geter, who had 28 yards on four carries.
2007: Last year's game was a showcase for the depth of Hickory's backfield. Senior sensation Darrien Burch suffered from dehydration and did not play in the second half. While he was in the game, however, he did pick up 68 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
The Red Tornadoes went to the locker room holding a slim 15-12 lead over the visitors. The Hounds had actually led 12-7 after the first quarter thanks to touchdown runs by Keyon Harris and Andre Shepherd. Burch scored his second touchdown in the second period and then caught Shelton's two-point conversion pass to take back the lead once and for all.
With Burch on the sideline the rest of Hickory's championship backfield went to work to secure the victory. Hickory rushed for 209 yards after halftime with junior Rakim Barrett doing most of the damage. He led Hickory with 81 yards on just seven carries (11.6 yards per carry!) and scored the game's final touchdown on a 32-yard run. Before that it was Jordan Wilson hitting paydirt on a run of three yards. Meanwhile Statesville's Shepherd fumbled twice in the game to hamper the Hounds' momentum. The Hounds were never able to score after the opening period as Hickory sewed up a 29-12 victory. This was the beginning of a 13-0 run that only ended on the day after Thanksgiving.
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