One last look at the West Caldwell game

#5 Trevin Parks off to the races

Before focusing on the Bunker Hill I wanted to take a moment and discuss three things that were significant in last week's 35-20 victory over the Warriors. Yes, the score doesn't reflect how close the game was in the fourth quarter. Yes, the Red Tornadoes had to put up a couple of defensive stands in the red zone and resort to the wildcat formation to finally put the Warriors away.

Ahhh, but since nothing has come easy this season why should the West Caldwell game have been any different? The Red Tornadoes got 'er done and that's all that matters now. And Friday night they are in position to finish the CVAC chase ahead of St. Stephens. Hickory's football team is still in there fighting...even if the fans are not.

Here are three things that impressed me about the Red Tornadoes last Friday:

1. Kevin Shelton surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in passing yardage for the second straight year. Against the Warriors Shelton completed five of his nine pass attempts (56%) for 113 yards and a perfect 35-yard touchdown strike to Anthony Wilson. Shelton's total for the season is now 1,101 yards. He also has 12 touchdowns to his credit.
   
   Kevin now sits safely at #4 on Hickory's career yardage list. His total yardage for his varsity career is 2,418. He ranks behind only Tim Swanson (3,780 yards from 1997-1999), Cole Kenworthy (3,611 yards from 2000-2002) and Daniel Willis (2,729 yards from 1994-1996). Kevin's older brother Patrick is #5 on the list (2,097 yards from 2004-2005).



2. The wildcat formation really works well! The offense has been using the direct snap to Trevin Parks a little bit, here and there, for most of the season. It almost always results in positive yardage when used. That was particularly true against West Caldwell. With Hickory clinging to a 21-20 in the fourth quarter the Tornadoes put the ball in Trevin's hands twice, resulting first in a 55-yard touchdown run and then a 60-yard run to the end zone.
   
   Trevin finished the night with 176 yards rushing on just four carries (44 yards per carry). Not too shabby for a wide receiver, huh? In my opinion, the wildcat formation is just one example of what Hickory is capable of doing offensively to maximize the athleticism and speed that is so abundant in the program. Trevin's football career at Hickory High is almost over. But the wildcat formation needs to remain a significant weapon for the future.



3. The youth movement keeps rockin' on! The fans that actually showed up last Friday witnessed something that doesn't happen very often at Hickory High. Fullback Casey Stinson became the first freshman to start a varsity game since 2004.
   
   The last time it happened was when Austin Johnson was moved up to the varsity to play linebacker in the first-round playoff game against East Gaston. Even though Hickory lost that night, the Bruiser wound up as the game's leading tackler. He started every game for the next three years.
   
   Prior to that special night one must go all the way back to mid-1990s to find freshmen in the starting varsity lineup. I believe that Anthony Foust started a game or two as a freshman during the championship run of 1996. And, of course, that '96 team was loaded with seniors and juniors who had been starting since their freshmen years in '93 and '94.
   
   Stinson had some good runs early in the game. After that he was used more as a blocker. I thought he did a pretty good job with the blocking although he did miss one block that got his quarterback sacked. Heck, even seniors have their bad moments, so... Chock it up as a learning experience. But there is no doubt that Stinson played like he belonged out there with the veterans. That is huge. Good job, Casey Stinson!

I can't wait to see what happens next!

#35 Stinson runs interference for Parks