Red Tornadoes defeat Tigers in overtime!

One of my all-time favorite memories of watching Red Tornado football occurred 10 years ago when Hickory hosted Fred T. Foard for Homecoming. To be specific, the date was October 23, 1998 and it was easily the coldest Friday night of the season up to that point. It was the coldest Homecoming night in more than a decade. But the action on the field was smoking hot for the full 48 minutes - and then some!

To fully appreciate the game itself it's important to know just what was at stake.

Hickory and Foard were fighting for position in the Western Foothills Conference. The Tigers entered the contest with a 5-3 record overall and a 3-1 mark in the Western Foothills. Foard was tied with East Lincoln for second place in the standings. Undefeated Mooresville was out in front at 4-0 and 8-0. Thus the Tigers were hoping for a stumble by the Blue Devils that might allow Foard to grab at least a share of the WFC title.

Hickory and South Caldwell were tied for fourth place in the standings with 2-2 league marks. Hickory had battled to a 4-3 record after dropping below .500 at 2-3 following consecutive losses to Newton-Conover, Mooresville and East Lincoln. With virtually no shot at the conference title the Red Tornadoes were trying to stay in the hunt for a playoff berth.

It should have been a better season for Hickory. After compiling a 28-1 record over the previous two seasons and winning two conference titles and the 1996 Class 3A state championship the Red Tornadoes looked forward to returning two of the area's top running backs in junior tailback Anthony Foust and senior wingback Wesley Gatewood. In 1997 the two had combined for 2,315 yards rushing. But in August it was determined that both were academically ineligible for the 1998 season. That was the end of the line for Gatewood. Foust would find redemption in his senior season of 1999. In the meantime, Hickory was left with a gaping hole where its rushing game used to be as the 1998 season began.

Coach David Elder did have a few weapons in the arsenal and now they would play a crucial role in Hickory's success. First among these was junior quarterback Tim Swanson. Although officially the "new" starter Swanson did have varsity experience and had even started a couple of key games in '97 while regular starter Dean Powell was sidelined with an ankle injury. The highlight of Swanson's career had been the showdown with Mooresville. In a battle of unbeatens in front of more than 8,000 fans Swanson had held his own and led the team to victory. He was a strong kid, a good leader and a terrific passer.

In the late '90s Hickory had several tall, lanky wide receivers but none were quite as good as Menyel Flowers. A 6'4 senior, Flowers had been on the varsity since his sophomore season and was extremely cool under pressure. He had the good instincts as a receiver that allowed him to make the most of his athletic abilities. Together he and Swanson would rewrite the school passing and receiving records.

A third member of the offense who was less well-known when the season began but who would also step up and be a team leader was senior tailback Brandon Michaux. Although not on the same level as Anthony Foust, Michaux was a very capable back with plenty of speed. In the end he would join the ranks of Hickory's illustrious 1,000-yard rushing fraternity.

The first five games of the season were a series of losses and near-losses. Hickory managed to begin the season with a couple of home wins over East Burke and Statesville. But both were close, come-from-behind affairs that hardly inspired confidence among the Tornado Nation. Nevertheless, at that point in time Hickory had won 30 of its last 31 games.

Then came three straight losses, beginning with a stunning 33-20 beating at the hands of Newton-Conover. After a bye week the disappointments continued with a 37-0 shellacking at Mooresville followed by a heartbreaking 21-20 loss at East Lincoln. Michaux had been injured in the Statesville game and had not played at all against Newton-Conover and only sparingly against Mooresville. Suddenly Hickory wasn't a team that had won 30 times in its last 31 games but merely a team with a losing record going nowhere fast.

The next two weeks saw the Red Tornadoes bounce back with wins over South Iredell at home and South Caldwell on the road. Those wins helped set the stage for what would happen in the Foard game. It was now Homecoming.

The Fred T. Foard Tigers were a laughing stock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Of all Hickory's important rivalries the one with Foard is the newest. The two teams played each other for the first time in 1991. Hickory won the first two meetings and then lost in 1993 during Bob Hanna's final year as head coach. With a new head coach in charge beginning in 1994 the Red Tornadoes strung together four consecutive wins over the Tigers with only the last one, in 1997, being close. In a miserable, rainy downpour the Red Tornadoes squeezed out a 21-6 victory that was closer than the final score would imply.

The Tigers had momentum coming into the 1998 season. They had great size, more speed than usual and a promising quarterback in Randall Bost. Running back B.J. Walton led the conference in rushing and also in scoring. Then, as now, the Foard liked to utilize the committee approach to running the ball and so in addition to B.J. Walton they relied on his brother, Jerrell, as well as Jeremy Dula and Ben Eggers. The Tigers also had an excellent kicker in James Raven.

Foard had been 3-0 in the conference before losing to Mooresville a week prior to the Hickory game. The Tigers had played as well as anybody against the Blue Devils and were favored to get the school's second-ever win over Hickory. The Tigers hoped that if they could stay within a game of Mooresville then perhaps they could still get a share of the title if the Blue Devils happened to lose in their final regular season game against East Lincoln on November 7.

All eyes were scanning the skies just prior to kickoff as the gameball was delivered to the the field by a skydiver who landed right in the logo at midfield. It was an exciting beginning to what would turn out to be an absolute classic of a game.

Hickory opened the scoring with an 81-yard touchdown pass from Swanson to Flowers. Adam Joseph, a new kicker for Hickory, nailed the PAT. The Red Tornado defense made that score stand up for the rest of the quarter. After 12 minutes of gametime Hickory held a 7-0 lead.

Using its punishing ground attack Foard dominated the second quarter. Jeremy Dula scampered into the end zone from 28 yards out to put the Tigers on the board. The attempted 2-point conversion failed. When the Tigers got the ball back they went on another scoring drive that culminated in B.J. Walton's three-yard touchdown run. Walton then ran in the conversion to give Foard a 14-7 lead. The Tigers would take that lead into halftime.

Hickory struck first in the third quarter on Brandon Michaux's 67-yard touchdown run. Joseph's kick was successful, knotting the score at 14-14. The rest of the third quarter belonged to the Tigers as Randall Bost capped a scoring drive with a 13-yard run. Raven's kick put the visitors up 21-14. After stopping the Tornadoes on their next drive the Tigers increased their lead when fullback Ben Eggers scored from four yards out. Another successful Raven PAT gave Foard a 28-14 lead as the quarter came to an end.

The Red Tornadoes continued to fight, however, and put together a drive that ended with Swanson's keeper from the one. After Joseph's PAT the Tiger lead was cut to a single touchdown. Hickory's defense did its job on Foard's next possession and forced them to punt. The Tornado Nation had witnessed Swanson lead the team to a come-from-behind victory on more than one occasion and hopes were high that he could do it again. But when Foard's Aaron Wilkie intercepted a Swanson pass and turned it into a "pick-6" I can remember how crushing it was for the fans. Raven was automatic with his PATs and suddenly Hickory was trailing 35-21 with 7:54 left to play.

After the kickoff the Red Tornadoes set up shop on their own 33 yard line. After six plays the ball was resting on Foard's 30. That's when Coach Elder reached into the trick bag and pulled out the old hook-and-lateral play. Swanson found Flowers at the 22 and then Flowers instantly pitched to a streaking Brandon Michaux who took it to the house for an electrifying touchdown that had everybody on the home side going wild. The excitement was dampened temporarily when Joseph's kick was low and no good.

Leading 35-27, Foard took the kickoff and ran six plays before being forced to punt. Hickory took over on the Tiger 49 and Swanson went back to the air immediately. His first pass was complete to Flowers down to the 31. His second pass was complete to Flowers for a 31-yard touchdown strike. Down 35-33 with only 1:29 left in the game, the Tornadoes had no choice but to go for two. The Tigers were expecting either a run or perhaps a pass to Flowers but instead Swanson looked for Jeremy Sherrill, a 6'3 senior, in the right rear corner of the end zone. The pass was placed in such a way that either Sherrill caught it or nobody caught it. The ball was a bit overthrown but Sherrill stretched out and made a one-handed catch that, again, sent the home crowd into a frenzy. By this time my voice was pretty much gone.

But still the Tornadoes weren't out of the woods. Foard put together a lightning drive of its own and James Raven, the oustanding kicker, was given an opportunity to win the game on a 37-yard field goal attempt as time ran out. His kick went wide left and the Tornado Nation heaved a sigh of relief.

Hickory got the ball first in the overtime period and wasted no time. On the first play Michaux took the handoff and scored the 10-yard touchdown. Joseph nailed the all-important PAT, giving Hickory it's first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

Foard took three plays to go nine yards. On 4th-and-goal from the one, Bost sneaked in for the touchdown. Then Foard's head coach, Allan Gorry, made the decision to go for the win rather than the tie. Bost rolled left and dived for the end zone pylon. He was smacked by several Tornado defenders who stopped him just inches from paydirt. For a split second there was doubt and then the Tornadoes started jumping up and down as the officials signaled that the conversion was no good. Hickory had pulled off a remarkable 42-41 victory.

The game was especially sweet for Tim Swanson and Menyel Flowers. Swanson set a new school record for passing yards in a single game. His totals that night were 12-21-1, 252 yards and two touchdowns. Flowers set a new single-game record for receiving yards. He finished with eight catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Michaux also had a good night, racking up 108 yards and three touchdowns. He was the game's leading rusher (Jeremy Dula led the Tigers with 89 yards).

The Red Tornadoes went on to win their next three games, including a playoff win on the road at North Surry. Hickory was eliminated in the second round by North Buncombe. One can only wonder just how good the Red Tornadoes would have been if Foust and Gatewood had been available but there is no doubt that on Homecoming night in 1998 the Red Tornadoes made memories to last a lifetime.