Rest In Peace?

Hickory is a big underdog in tomorrow night's game down at Kings Mountain. As I demonstrated in my last post about the 1964 playoff game in which another underdog Tornado team knocked off a favored Mountaineer squad, anything can happen on any given Friday night.

Another example of Hickory rising to the occasion and beating the odds occurred in 1990 when Hickory celebrated its Homecoming by knocking off an undefeated Freedom team that was ranked #6 in the state and riding a 13-game winning streak. If you're a current Tornado player be sure and ask Coach Wittenberg about this game. He was a starting offensive guard in the game. Coaches Worley, Hopper and Davis were assistants on head coach Larry Wittenberg's staff.

Hickory and Freedom were members of the Northwestern 4A Conference. Prior to the game the league standings looked like this:

1. Freedom (7-0, 3-0)
2. East Burke (6-2, 3-1)
3. Hickory (5-2, 2-1)
4. Alexander Central (4-3, 2-2)
5. McDowell (4-4, 2-2)
6. Watauga (2-5, 0-3)
7. South Caldwell (0-7, 0-3)

The competition in those days for playoff spots was fierce. Plenty of good teams were left out of the postseason dance and to qualify for the playoffs was a thing of great pride. The NW4A was always a close, exciting slugfest from beginning to end. Hickory's Homecoming would prove to be no exception.

The stage had been set the week before. Hickory had bounced back from a lopsided loss to East Burke with a resounding 50-25 win over McDowell in Marion. The beating was bad enough to prompt Titan coaches to accuse Hickory of running up the score. The fact of the matter is that the margin of victory wasn't particularly outlandish.

That same night Freedom had whipped Alexander Central 28-0 and East Burke had wiped out South Caldwell, 41-0. Both wins were by wider margins than Hickory's victory over McDowell. But what it really signified was that these three teams, Freedom, East Burke, and Hickory were the best in the league and they were establishing their primacy.

Another interesting aspect of Freedom's win over Alexander Central was that all four touchdowns had been scored by junior quarterback Leon Johnson, the future Tar Heel and NFL star. Many people forget that although he was a running back on the collegiate and professional level Johnson was the fleet-footed QB who led the Patriots for two seasons. He was the best that the NW4A had to offer in terms of bluechip prospects.

Hickory was not without weapons, however. Leading the way was senior quarterback Michael Glasheen. The 6'3, 180-pound senior quarterback was soon to receive his invitation to represent North Carolina in the Shrine Bowl. Glasheen was an athlete who was a good passer but also an effective runner. He could get a first down on his own when necessary.

Glasheen had a couple of favorite receivers in the speedy Chad Bumgarner and big Robby Johnson (6'6, 225). Senior fullback Todd Austin (6'0, 220) was a battering ram, as was junior Richard Gaither (5'9, 220). Garon Erby provided the speed at tailback.

Hickory's defensive coordinator, David Elder, had a plan to deal with Freedom's wishbone offense. He placed as many as nine defenders in the box to put maximum pressure on the point of attack. The best way to stop an option attack is to blow it up at or behind the line of scrimmage. It's that simple.

Freedom took the opening kickoff and, despite Hickory's best efforts, managed to drive 76 yards for a touchdown. At one point the Tornadoes stopped the Patriots short on a third-down play only to let them have an automatic first down due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. On 1st-and-10 from the Hickory 22, Leon Johnson went around left end for seven yards and then lateraled to Anthony Fleming who carried the ball into the end zone from there. The PAT was successful and the Patriots were up, 7-0.

Hickory came right back, though, and put together an 83-yard scoring drive. On 2nd-and-8 at the Freedom 36, Glasheen rolled left and hit Bumgarner at the goal line for the touchdown. Roger Young's PAT tied the game at 7-7 with 1:53 left in the opening period.

The Hickory defense stymied the Patriots on Freedom's next drive and Matthew Pitts partially blocked a punt that set Hickory up at the Freedom 38. Hickory's drive was highlighted by Glasheen's 14-yard option run. The Tornadoes drove to the Freedom two before getting pushed back by a nine-yard loss and a penalty. That put Hickory in a 3rd-and-goal situation from the 17. Glasheen rolled to the right and threw towards Bumgarner. Freedom's Girard Scott tipped the pass but it still fell into the arms of Bumgarner for the touchdown. Another successful PAT made the score 14-7 in Hickory's favor. That was still the score when the first half ended.

Hickory took the opening kickoff in the second half and drove deep into Patriot territory until Garon Erby fumbled and Freedom's Kevin Summers recovered at the 11. It took Freedom 11 plays to score. Fleming did the honors with a leaping touchdown run from the Hickory three yard line. The kick was good and the game was tied 14-14 with 2:04 left in the third quarter.

Hickory's next drive went for 80 yards and took 13 plays. The first big play of the drive came when Richard Gaither busted off a 17-yard run on a draw play. That put Hickory on Freedom's 28. Glasheen then passed to Scott Stilwell down to the six. Todd Austin then fought off a tackle on 3rd-and-goal to give Hickory the lead once again. Young's kick made it 21-14.

Of course, Freedom had a lot to lose and didn't go down without a fight. The Patriots drove to Hickory's 40. Fleming then got around the left corner. He fumbled on a hit by Pitts but the ball rolled out of bounds at the 14. A third-down run by Leon Johnson moved the ball to the five. On fourth down Fleming crashed into the left side of the line.

With 2:17 left in the game the ball was spotted just inside the five. The chains came out. Just short! Hickory ball. The Red Tornadoes then ran out the clock to seal the win.

As Gaither told a reporter after the game: "We needed this game to go to the playoffs. We were prepared all night long. They [Freedom] sent us a wreath that said R.I.P. - Rest In Peace. We're sending it back Monday."

Hickory wound up sharing the NW4A title with East Burke, who defeated Freedom on Fat Friday two weeks after Hickory spoiled Freedom's perfect season.