Another historical moment coming up?

Jordan Wilson breaks loose at Hibriten in 2007

It's been a season of milestone victories for Hickory's opponents. Statesville got its first win over Hickory since 2001. St. Stephens beat Hickory for the first time since 1993 (and for only the second time in the series). Fred T. Foard won against the Red Tornadoes for the first time since 2000. Now here comes Hibriten, perhaps the best team Hickory has faced all year. Behind a high-octane offense and a stingy defense, the Panthers will be the heavy favorites to do something they've never done before: Beat Hickory.

This game will be the last opportunity in the regular season for Hickory to make a statement to the rest of the league. The final two weeks of the season should - emphasis on should - be routine for the Red Tornadoes. Even in this downer of a season Hickory should beat West Caldwell and Bunker Hill. I'm not encouraging the players to take either the Warriors or the Bears for granted. Of course not! I'm just stating the obvious. Those games should be Hickory wins, period. Which means that nobody will be impressed by them.

But a win this week against arguably the best team in the Unifour, coming on the heels of their victory over previously undefeated Newton-Conover, would be huge. It's an exciting moment and should be viewed as a golden opportunity - rather than a potential disaster. After all, the game is decided on the field. It's 11 guys versus 11 other guys. And the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of the Panthers, believe me.

The key matchup in my opinion will be Hickory's offense versus the Panther defense.

Statistics indicate that Hickory will have a hard time stopping Hibriten's rushing attack. Defending the run has been Hickory's biggest problem this season. The Panthers, on the other hand, are the best rushing team in the league right now. Hickory's defense is currently allowing an average of 200 rushing yards per game. Hibriten's offense is averaging 278 yards of rushing per game. They also pass the ball effectively, if infrequently. The Tornado defense could play well and still not be able to shut the Panthers down.

I think, however, that Hickory can move the ball against Hibriten's defense. Yes, the Panthers have some headhunters on that side of the ball. Yes, they hit hard. I remember being impressed at the hitting that was taking place on the field up in Lenoir. You could hear it as well as see it. Quin Smith is a beast and he will get his share of tackles. Hibriten's goal will be to stop Hickory from doing what Hickory wants to do: run the football. This should create some opportunities for success in the passing department.

I personally would love to see some deep routes thrown. Shelton can throw the deep ball as well as anybody and even if one gets picked off, it's no worse than a punt. If Shelton has time to throw he can pick a defense apart. Parks and Wilson are capable and reliable. So is Michael Shook. So is Tyshon Chisholm. Hibriten is currently allowing 114.5 yards per game through the air. That's an opening waiting to be exploited. And if Hickory's air strikes are successful then the Panthers will have no choice but to back up a bit. That's when Hickory will grind out the yards, move the chains and shorten the game.

It will require Hickory to be very efficient and very careful with the football. The Tornadoes simply can't afford to give Hibriten anything. One of the many things that the Panthers do well is to avoid turnovers while at the same time forcing the other team to turn the ball over multiple times. Hickory must take advantage of every opportunity and control the time of possession. Every drive must end in one of two ways: a score or a punt deep into Panther territory.

Field position and special teams could play a major role in this game. If the Red Tornadoes don't come away with points then they at least must force the Panthers to go 80+ yards to score. Any time you make a team go 80 yards or more the odds are against them scoring. When you're the underdog you must play all the angles and do the little things right. It may be a wet field on Friday or it may not. Hopefully the conditions will be dry. Patrick Smith has shown the ability to put the ball in the end zone for automatic touchbacks. The more he does that the fewer opportunities Hibriten will have to showcase its speed with returns.

If Hickory can take care of the "little things" such as protecting the football, getting good special teams play, avoiding silly penalties, blocking downfield, then the Red Tornadoes can put themselves in a position to win this game.

This can be done...and now would be the best time to do it!