New stars emerge for Hickory

T.J. Wimbush showing his speed

What an interesting game we saw on Friday night. How interesting? Well, check this out...

After the first 10 games of the season the top of Hickory's rushing chart looked like this:

1. Rakim Barrett - 1,126 yards
2. Kyshell Geter - 291 yards
3. Trevin Parks - 284 yards
4. Tyshon Chisholm - 250 yards

Obviously those aren't exactly eye-popping numbers, right? When it comes time to evaluate the 2008 season and figure out what went wrong the lack of production from the running game will be high on the list of grievances.

But here's where it gets interesting. Hickory rolled up 464 rushing yards in the regular-season finale against Bunker Hill. Not too shabby when you consider that of the team's top four rushers only one (Trevin Parks) got any carries at all. And for those of you who don't know, Trevin's normal positions are split end and cornerback.

Rakim Barrett? Suspended from the team for disciplinary reasons (the second time in a month). Kyshell Geter? Played only on defense before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. Tyshon Chisholm? He's been out with an injury for the past two weeks.

Now I will concede that Bunker Hill came into the game ranked dead last in the CVAC in both rush defense and total defense. The Bears were allowing an average of 254 rushing yards per game. But still, Hickory barely had any of its top rushers available. Surely Bunker Hill could deal with a depleted Tornado backfield just this one time. Uhh, no, apparently the Bears couldn't.

It was Senior Night at Frank Barger Stadium but this game will be forever remembered as a changing of the guard in the offensive backfield. Last week a freshman started a regular-season varsity game for the first time in more than a decade. Against Bunker Hill a sophomore tailback made the Tornado Nation forget its troubles and cheer wildly as he ran all over the visitors from Claremont.

Sophomore tailback T.J. Wimbush got his first varsity start and made the most of it, rushing for 224 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries (8.3 yards per carry). Exactly one year after Darrien Burch set the school single-game rushing record (326 yards) Wimbush recorded the 12th-best rushing performance in school history and easily the best outing a Hickory sophomore has ever had. That's just flat-out impressive.

Freshman fullback Casey Stinson, getting his second straight varsity start, was on his way to having a great night himself. Before leaving the game with a foot injury he had already picked up 53 yards on just three carries (17.7 yards per carry). Indications are that Casey will be available for duty this Friday against Kings Mountain.

Senior fullback Tavish Johnson had a great night running the football. He showed surprising speed on his 69-yard touchdown run that resulted from a perfectly-executed trap play, the likes of which we haven't seen in two or three years. For a team that runs the Wing-T offense like Hickory there are few sights more satisfying than witnessing a fullback busting it right up the middle and then takin' it to the house. It was fun to see the sideline erupt in cheering for Tavish. He has hung in there and kept the faith, so to speak. That touchdown was quite a payoff.

But Hickory's rushing avalanche didn't end there. Jason Hill, a junior who usually goes in on defense, got his chance to carry the ball Friday night. He only touched the ball twice but one of those resulted in a 44-yard touchdown run. He is a player who has made the most of his limited playing time on both defense and offense. I think that he will play a much bigger role for Hickory next season. I look forward to seeing that.

It wasn't completely about the rushing game, though. Senior David Dula hauled in a Kevin Shelton pass and then turned on his jets and scored the 39-yard touchdown. The play impressed me because of the way Dula controlled the ball when it bobbled as he caught it. Instead of giving up on it and letting the ball hit the ground he fought for that catch, juggling it briefly before getting control of it and then setting sail for the end zone. That's called making a play. That's how it has to be if you want to make some noise in the playoffs. Good stuff!

Casey Stinson gallops downfield