Go Dawgs!

GATA!

I'm for Bandys (and why you should be, too!)

There has been some concern this week about Hickory's chances of making the playoffs for the 13th time in the past 14 years. The CVAC has three Class 3A member schools but the league only gets two automatic playoff berths. Every year somebody gets left out. Normally this is a problem for St. Stephens and Fred T. Foard to sort out amongst themselves. But this year, following losses to both Foard and Saint, the Red Tornadoes finally have to take this seriously. But while the local "professional experts" are sipping on their hatorade and gleefully rubbing their hands while imagining a sub-.500 finish for Hickory I am going to map out a scenario in which Hickory goes to the playoffs - again - while the folks out on Trailer Park Road turn their broken hearts to basketball.

The first thing to understand is that going into tonight's games Hickory does not completely control its own destiny. Even if the Tornadoes win out and finish with a 7-2 record in the CVAC they could still wind up in a tie with St. Stephens (and probably Fred T. Foard). Any ties will eliminate Hickory. Hickory and St. Stephens are currently tied and the Indians could (in theory) run the table, too. So while the obvious best option for Hickory would be to simply keep winning it won't guarantee a berth.

Obviously Hickory is the heavy underdog tonight against Newton-Conover. Depending on what happens tonight the Tornadoes will most likely be viewed as underdogs in a couple of weeks when Hibriten comes to town. So it's not unreasonable to contemplate a scenario where Hickory loses two more games in the CVAC. For the sake of argument I will assume for now that Hickory holds serve against Patton, West Caldwell and Bunker Hill.

Hickory must win two of its next three games. It doesn't matter which ones but it has to be two-of-three. That means getting at least a split between the lead dogs - Newton and Hibriten. It's a tall order but certainly not beyond this team's capabilities. At the end of the day it's still our 11 guys against their 11 guys on the field. That's where things are decided. All the Red Tornadoes can do is to take care of their business and let the chips fall where they may.

Now let's examine those chips.

Fred T. Foard is still in the hunt for at least a share of the CVAC title. That's what is on their minds at the moment. Tonight Foard faces Hibriten, which probably means a loss for the Tigers. That would be their second CVAC loss which would eliminate them from the title chase. It would also set up one of three possible situations. First, they could be in a tie with either Hickory or St. Stephens. Second, they could be in a tie with both Hickory and St. Stephens. Third, they could maintain their one-game lead on the other two schools. All Foard needs to do in order to clinch a playoff berth is to keep things tied.

St. Stephens has the easiest game tonight among the 3A schools. While Hickory battles Newton and Foard takes on Hibriten the Indians square off with Bunker Hill at home. Since the Bears are 1-5 on the season and 1-3 in the CVAC the odds are heavily in Saint's favor. So they will most likely be 5-2 and 3-2 when tonight's festivities are over. That would move them one game ahead of Hickory if the Red Tornadoes can't find a way to beat the Red Devils.

When you examine Foard's and Saint's remaining schedules the first thing you notice is that they play each other on November 7th, the final week of the regular season. Based on what I've seen so far it should be Foard victory. But unless Hickory wins all five of its remaining games that third loss by Saint still won't be enough to guarantee a playoff spot for Hickory.

St. Stephens must lose at least two more games this season. And if Hickory loses to Newton and Hibriten then we would need the Indians to lose three more games! Let's say that they lose to Foard in the season finale. Who else can the Tornado Nation look to for a much-needed win over the folks from Trailer Park Road?

Bandys.

I say GO BANDYS GO!

The Trojans have made themselves notorious in recent years for stinking up the league early in the season. An 0-4 start last year followed by a 1-3 start this season. Not too cool, right? But Bandys has a good quarterback and good receivers. They have also finally decided to utilize the speed and power of tailback Josh McCombs and it's having a major impact on their offensive production. This is especially true in the absence of quarterback Kyle Houser, who is in the middle of a two-game suspension for getting ejected from the West Caldwell game. Trojan head coach Randy Lowman is now the dean of CVAC coaches and surely he's figured things out enough to allow the Trojans to maximize their potential. Plus that inexperienced defense they started with is no longer inexperienced. That's a crucial element right there.

Both Fred T. Foard and St. Stephens still have to face the Trojans. We need the Trojans to slap the big hurt on at least one of those teams. If you believe that Foard will defeat St. Stephens then the other loss for Saint will probably come at the hands of the Trojans. That would be a total of four CVAC losses, which would leave the Indians trailing Hickory by one game (if Hickory can upset either Newton or Hibriten).

Of course the Indians still have to deal with Bunker Hill, Patton and Maiden in addition to Bandys and Foard. I think any of those teams can beat Saint under the right circumstances. But for the moment it appears that Bandys is the most likely team to tag the Indians with the "fatal fourth" loss. Stay tuned.

GO HICKORY!

Perplexing? Hmmm...

One of the "professional experts" in town has hauled himself out of bed just long enough to ponder the future of Hickory High football as the Red Tornadoes head into the new Northwestern 4A/3A Conference next season. He's also concerned that the Red Tornadoes may finish the season below .500 for the first time since 1994. He's also concerned that some fans are pointing fingers unfairly at the coaching staff. He says he is perplexed. He thinks it's a mystery. He apparently is worried on our behalf about all the bad things that could happen to Hickory next year in the new conference with all those big, bad 4A schools like *cough* ...Alexander Central and South Caldwell and Watauga.

I suspect that he has been sleepy, confused and, well, inadequate all his life. There's nothing that we Tornado fans can do to remedy that. But perhaps I can put his fears to rest by reminding him of a few realities.

Here is Hickory's record against each of the members of the new Northwestern Conference. If past if prologue then the facts seem to indicate that Hickory will be just fine in the new league. It does make ya wonder why it's so hard for the "professional expert" to understand this. Bless his heart. Him can't help himself...

HICKORY VERSUS:

Alexander Central... Red Tornadoes lead the series, 17-5. Hickory has beaten the Cougars 11 times in the past 12 meetings. Hickory has also won the past three contests. Back in the old days when it was Taylorsville High, Hickory led that series with the Bears, 14-1.

South Caldwell... Red Tornadoes lead this series, 24-4. Hickory has won the last 10 meetings and 24 of the last 26. Hickory was 13-1 against South Caldwell's predecessor, Hudson High. For the record, South Caldwell dropped Hickory from its schedule following the 2004 season. Hmmm...

Watauga... Red Tornadoes lead the series, 12-1. Watauga won the first meeting between the two schools in 1965. Hickory won 12 straight after that, including all eight games when both schools were in the Northwestern 4A Conference during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Hibriten... Red Tornadoes lead this series, 7-0. Nuff said.

Fred T. Foard... Red Tornadoes lead the series, 15-3. The way this rivalry works is that every once in a while the Tigers will get a win over Hickory during a season when Foard is pretty good and Hickory is down a little bit. But just as the Tiger faithful start to believe that they've "turned the corner" against Hickory the Red Tornadoes bust off 6 or 7 wins in a row. That's the cold, hard reality of it, Bias!

St. Stephens... Red Tornadoes lead the series, 20-2. Kinda like the rivalry with Fred T. Foard, except bigger and more embarrassing for the Indians. The Indians got all excited in 1993 when they got their first win against the Mighty Ones from Viewmont. They thought maybe they had turned the tide. They didn't realize that it would take them 15 years to get the second win. The Indian players from '93 will be watching their grandsons play the next time Hickory loses to St. Stephens.

Breaking down this week's CVAC games

Will Fred T. Foard pull off another upset tonight? Or will Hibriten eliminate the upstart Tigers from the CVAC title chase? It's been a magical season for the Tigers so far but perhaps tonight the alarm goes off and the dream ends. Mr. Owens, meet Mr. Smith!

The Bunker Hill Bears are looking to steal one from St. Stephens down on Trailer Park Road. You may have heard that I'm a pretty fanatical Red Tornado fan. I'm also a big fan of whoever is playing St. Stephens. So, you know...go Bears!

BUNKER HILL (1-3, 1-5) AT ST. STEPHENS (2-2, 4-2)

Series Notes: St. Stephens is looking for its third straight win over Bunker Hill.

What to look for tonight: Bears quarterback Cameron Beard threw for 244 yards and a touchdown against Bandys. Unfortunately the Bears only averaged 2.4 yards per carry on the ground and had trouble getting into the end zone. They also allowed Josh McCombs to rack up 247 yards and four touchdowns on their defense. The Indian defense will shut Bunker Hill down unless the Bears find a way to keep 'em honest by running the football. St. Stephens doesn't have a back as bullish as McCombs but they do have Caleb Peterson and Antonio Sherrill who have deceptive speed. Saint coach Fred Whalen seems to come to battle with a pretty good gameplan every week and his team is certainly good enough to take advantage of whatever an opponent gives away. The jury is still on out on Bunker Hill's Ron Turner, who is in his second year as head coach. The Indians should also have a pyschological edge, as well. While the Bears are playing for pride and building towards the future the Indians know they must keep winning in order to maintain the inside track to a guaranteed playoff berth.

HIBRITEN (4-0, 6-0) AT FRED T. FOARD (3-1, 5-1)

Series Notes: Foard leads this series, 8-3. Hibriten got its third victory over the Tigers last season up in Lenoir by a score of 35-10.

What to look for tonight: Earlier in the season the Tigers didn't have to work very hard in the last couple of quarters of their games. They had big leads against inferior opponents and were able to coast a bit. The last two weeks, however, the Tigers have been pushed hard by Newton-Conover and Hickory. Foard proved to me that they know how to play four full quarters of football as evidenced by their 26-point explosion in the final 10 minutes of their historic win against Hickory. They'll get another stern test tonight from the visiting Panthers. Hibriten moves the ball with ease behind an experienced offensive line and a host of running backs led by Quin Smith. Foard has even more experience than Hibriten and doesn't make too many mistakes. This experience helps the Foard coaching staff make the right adjustments during the game which is what happened last week at Frank Barger Stadium. Another plus for the Tigers is that team speed that I raved about last week. They made a believer out of me, I have to say. Nevertheless I have to give the edge to Hibriten simply because the Panthers are more accustomed to winning than the Tigers. And the Panthers will be fighting to keep pace with Newton-Conover as they look forward to meeting the Red Devils face-to-face next week in Lenoir.

BANDYS (2-2, 3-3) AT PATTON (2-2, 3-3)

Series Notes: These two teams have never played each other. In fact, has Bandys even been to Morganton for a football game before?

What to look for tonight: Bandys wants to survive this road trip and get past the whole Kyle Houser suspension thing. For the second week in a row we can expect to see Bandys emphasize the ground game with senior running back Josh McCombs, who had a monster performance last week against Bunker Hill. But Patton can't afford to overlook Bandys quarterback Dillon Crites who did a good job last week himself, passing for 99 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers can sling the pigskin a little, too. Quarterback Cody Story was 8-11-0 for 124 yards and two touchdowns last week against Newton-Conover. Tonight he will be looking to connect with his main man downfield, wide receiver Zach Cole. In last week's game Cole hauled in five passes for 104 yards and both touchdowns. The Panthers also have a nice stable of backs. Brandon Bethel, Johnny Bristol and Winfield Johnson are all developing into rushing threats. Story himself is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the Unifour. If the Panther line can hold up I think the sheer variety of the Patton offensive attack could be effective against a Trojan defense that has yet to impress anybody.

WEST CALDWELL (0-4, 0-6) AT MAIDEN (0-4, 1-5)

Series Notes: Maiden is 7-0 against the Warriors. Last season Tom Brown got his 350th career victory when the Blue Devils routed West by the score of 38-15.

What to look for tonight: One of these two losers is going to get its first conference win of the season. Wow. Tom Brown is gone. The mystique of Blue Devil football apparently left the building with him. The good news for Maiden is that Justin Sizemore got his mojo back last week in a 38-27 loss to Hibriten. Sizemore completed 17 of his 28 passing attempts for 344 yards and a couple of long touchdowns (80 yards to Nate Johnson and 61 yards to Cody Beal). Maiden also got a good performance from senior tailback Jordan Shade (23 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown). That kind of balance gave the Blue Devils a fighting chance against a superior Hibriten squad. Tonight the Devils play that other bunch from Lenoir and if they put up similar numbers to last week the score will be big for the home team. West Caldwell was virtually shut down last week offensively by St. Stephens. Almost half of West's total offense came on a 50-yard touchdown run by Steve Haley. It's homecoming at Maiden and the Blue Devils should win this one.

Pick 'em Week 8

After last week's fiasco I'm looking for a much better result tonight. Besides the clash at Gurley Stadium between the Red Tornadoes and the Red Devils the most interesting contest this week is the Hibriten-Foard game. The Panthers travel to Propst Crossroads for a catfight with the Tigers. The fur will be flying and it will be interesting to see how Hibriten handles Foard's offense. Also, will the Tigers even know how to act after finally beating Hickory? And hey! The good news is that South Caldwell is off this week. That works for me! And now...magic time.

Hickory at Newton-Conover
Winner: Hickory

Hibriten at Fred T. Foard
Winner: Hibriten

Bandys at Patton
Winner: Bandys

Bunker Hill at St. Stephens
Winner: St. Stephens

West Caldwell at Maiden
Winner: Maiden

Alexander Central at East Burke
Winner: East Burke

A.C. Reynolds at Freedom
Winner: A.C. Reynolds

Watauga at McDowell
Winner: Watauga

Upset? It could happen...

Damon King runs against Shelby, 1986


Nobody on the planet would deny that it will be a huge upset when Hickory beats Newton-Conover tomorrow night. I'm sure that all of the "professional experts" will be picking the Red Devils to win. But sometimes the unthinkable happens and the underdog wins. Certainly there have been times when Newton has pulled off upsets against Hickory.

The loss in 1999 is a good example. Hickory went 10-1 in the regular season that year. The only loss was to a Newton team that was 0-2 going into the game. I remember it well because the game was at Frank Barger Stadium and it was the night they dedicated the press box to the living legend, Bill Bass. Usually when Hickory gets upset by Newton the loss can be blamed on Red Tornado turnovers. That was certainly the case that night.

Another notable upset occurred in 2005. That was another case of Hickory giving the game away. When the Red Tornadoes hold a team to just seven points their supposed to win. The fact that Hickory could only muster a field goal and lost 7-3 was evidence that the Red Tornadoes came out flat as a pancake. Hickory was the better team that year, period. But they weren't the better team that night, unfortunately.

But I want to talk about a game where it was the Tornadoes who shocked the world and defied all the "professional experts."

It took place on October 17, 1986. The Red Tornadoes hit the road to Marion to take on the undefeated McDowell Titans in a Northwestern Conference game. The Titans were 7-0 and ranked #6 in state for Class 4A. Hickory was 4-2 overall and had been 2-2 after the first four games. Both teams were 2-0 in NW4A action. Thus the game was for conference supremacy.

It was a classic matchup of an offensive juggernaut (McDowell) versus a swarming defense (Hickory) loaded with headhunters who hit with reckless abandon. The Northwestern Conference has always placed a premium on defense and Hickory had the best one in the league, bar none. The Titans knew what to expect but still weren't prepared for what Coach Larry Wittenberg's Tornadoes brought to town.

The first step in engineering a big upset is to get on the scoreboard first. Hickory did just that when Darin Burch returned a Titan punt 71 yards for a touchdown. Troy Harris nailed the PAT and Hickory went up 7-0, which is how the first quarter ended.

McDowell responded with a 17-play, 69-yard drive that ate up eight minutes of the clock. It began in the first quarter but ended with 8:52 left in the second when quarterback Jeremy Styles connected with star wide receiver Johnny Maples for a 7-yard touchdown. After the kick the score was tied, 7-7, and remained that way for the rest of the half.

Hickory got the ball first to start the second half and promptly fumbled on its own 12 yard line. Three plays later Richard Chambers went over from four yards out to put the Titans back on top. The 14-7 lead was the only one the home team would enjoy for the rest of the night.

Another key to pulling off an upset is to get help from the other team. On Hickory's next drive McDowell repeatedly hurt itself with penalties. The Titans were penalized twice for a total of 35 yards to give life to the Tornado drive. Darrell Banks capped a 65-yard drive at 5:07 in the third on a five-yard dash. The game was tied at 21-21.

A fumble recovery by defensive end Tracy Saddler set Hickory up at the McDowell 43. Seven plays later Damon King scored from 10 yards out on a well-executed counter. With the kick Hickory took the lead with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

The teams traded possessions as the clock became an enemy to the Titans. With four minutes left in the game McDowell tried to convert on a 4th-and-9 play and were stopped cold at the 50. On Hickory's first play King bounced to the outside and showed his speed by outrunning three defenders for the game-clinching touchdown.

The final minutes of the game were sloppy and ugly. The yellow laundry was all over the field. McDowell had 70 yards of penalties in the final period, 152 yards for the game. Hickory had 40 penalty yards in the fourth and 92 for the game.

On a positive note, Damon King finished with 130 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. The Tornado defense held Styles, Maples and company to a mere 40 yards passing. Styles completed only six of his 41 pass attempts. The Titans got just 96 yards out of their ground attack.

Hickory and McDowell ended the regular season tied for the Northwestern Conference championship. But Hickory got the league's #1 seed because on October 17, 1986 the Tornadoes shocked the football world.

That's why we play these games...

A quick review of Hickory vs. Newton

The rivalry between Hickory and Newton is the rivalry in this county. The local media will try to say that it's Maiden vs. Bandys or Newton vs. Maiden. Not even close! The Red Tornadoes and Red Devils (both of whom adopted their nicknames in 1927) have been playing each other since 1923. That's a good 40 years since Tom Brown ever heard of Maiden. Bandys? There was no such thing as Bandys until the 1950s. There is only one grand old rivalry in Catawba County and this week marks the 66th meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.

No, the two teams have not met every season since 1923. I will go into much more detail on why that is in another post. The two did play each other every year from 1923 through 1967. The rivalry was renewed in 1975. The rivalry lapsed in 1976 before renewed again in 1977. Hickory and Newton played each other through the 1982 season then it went dormant again. When Hickory dropped down to Class 3A in 1993 and the schedule had to be completely revamped Newton popped up again and the Tornadoes and Devils have been playing each other ever since. The creation of the CVAC placed Hickory and Newton-Conover in the same conference for the first time since 1967.

Here are some interesting facts about the rivalry...

• Hickory High's first-ever football victory was won against Newton on October 5, 1923. The score was 26-0. Hickory won the first eight games between the two schools by a combined score of 280-0. That string of wins included the epic 121-0 annihilation of Newton in 1928. That 1928 squad, led by legends such as Norman "Pinkie" James, William "Bus" Newton and Johnny Mackorell, set a school scoring record (493 points in 11 games) that stood for 68 years until it was broken in 1996.



• The Red Devils finally got their first win against Hickory in 1933, the same year that Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as this country's 32nd President. The score in that one was 20-8. Newton followed up the next season with another win over Hickory. That final score was 7-0. During the next 12 years the Red Devils would pick up five more victories (1937, 1938, 1942, 1945 and 1946). At that point Hickory led the overall series, 14-7-1.



• In 1947 Hickory High got a new head coach. His name was Buddy Luper and the first thing he did was make sure that the Red Devils got the message that good times were over for them. In a brutal contest that resulted in several injuries (mostly to Newton players) Luper's Tornadoes rolled to a 20-2 victory. The beating Newton took that evening marked the beginning of a long period of absolute domination by Hickory over the Red Devils. Hickory would build a 21-0-1 record against Newton in the next 22 meetings.



• Hickory's record against Newton-Conover was 35-7-2 going into the 1977 contest. It was a lousy season for Hickory in terms of wins and losses. The Red Devils defeated the Red Tornadoes by the score of 14-7. After that, Hickory pounded Newton five straight times from 1978 through 1982. That increased Hickory's lead in the series to 40-8-2. Perhaps not surprisingly Newton head coach Don Patrick decided to quit playing Hickory. This latest hiatus lasted through the 1992 season.



• Since the two old rivals began playing each other again the Red Devils have certainly made things interesting. The truth is that Newton-Conover has tended to dominate the series over the past 15 years, winning 10 times. Hickory has won three of the last five games but memories of the 2005 Homecoming loss to the Red Devils are still painful. That year it was Hickory who built a 6-0 record prior to the game. Newton was 4-2 but had a bye week (as usual) before playing Hickory. When heavy rain forced a postponement till the following Monday the Red Tornadoes lost the emotional edge and came out flat as a pancake. The result was a shocking 7-3 loss. A trip to Gurley Stadium the following year resulted in a 20-7 Devil victory.



• Last year Hickory avenged those losses on Homecoming by bushwhacking the Red Devils at Frank Barger Stadium. Before the visitors knew what had hit them the score was 42-0 at halftime. Hickory cruised in the second half to a 59-20 final score. The Red Devils and their fans whined and cried about how awful Hickory had been to "run up the score." The words "no class" were used a lot. This despite that fact that just the year before Newton had hung a 71-32 loss on Bandys. For the Newton fans who can't count, that's a margin of 39 points for both games. No apologies from this side of the fault line. Just win baby!

Yes, Hickory is the underdog this Friday. But that's what makes this very interesting. Stay tuned...

D.J. Holloway applies pressure in 2007 win

Junior Varsity: Tornadoes vs. Devils

The biggest JV game of the year is now upon us. I don't want to diminish the importance of the final four games on the JV schedule (especially the big one up at Hibriten in two weeks) but tomorrow night's clash at Frank Barger Stadium between our Tornadoes and the Red Devils is basically for all the marbles.

Newton-Conover is breathing down Hickory's neck in the CVAC race with a 4-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in CVAC action. Newton's only loss was on September 11th when St. Stephens pulled off a 32-29 upset. That was one week before Hickory beat the Indians, 28-17.

Newton's offense is explosive and is led by sophomore running back Octavius Harden. Some of Harden's highlights this season include monster performances against East Burke in a 28-6 win, Maiden in a 52-20 win and Patton in a 49-24 win.

In the season opener against East Burke Harden rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries (16 yards per carry). He also scored on an 85-yard kickoff return and a 71-yard pass play.

Harden was equally spectacular against Maiden. He had five carries for 188 yards and three touchdowns. That's 37.6 yards per carry. Just as he did against East Burke, Harden added a long touchdown reception (56 yards) and kickoff return (65 yards), to make five touchdowns on the evening. He finished the game with 320 all-purpose yards.

After racking up 130 rushing yards and a touchdown against Fred T. Foard in a 27-22 victory, Harden had another explosion last week against Patton. This time he rushed for 295 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries (29.5 yards per carry). The touchdown runs were of 90, 52 and 49 yards, respectively. He also caught a 61-yard touchdown pass. He finished the game with 364 all-purpose yards.

In addition to Harden the Red Devils rely on the skills of sophomore quarterback Adonis Hewitt. It was Hewitt who scored on an option keeper in the final minute of the game to clinch the victory over Foard. Another backfield stalwart is running back Jamal Coates.

Rising up to stop the Harden Express will be Hickory's outstanding defensive unit. Hickory has more speed on defense than any team Newton has faced this season. The Tornado headhunters are aggressive and adept at swarming to the football.

Hickory has its own arsenal of offensive weapons. Freshman tailback Casey Stinson got his high school career started with a bang when he rushed for 104 yards on 10 carries in the opener against Alexander Central. He followed that up the next week with 154 yards on just five carries (30.8 yards per carry). After five games he has 520 yards on 52 carries (10 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. In last week's victory over Fred T. Foard, Stinson showed off his pass catching skills with three receptions for 43 yards. He also rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore tailback T.J. Wimbush has come on strong the past couple of weeks after freshman Quai Linebarger was injured against Maiden. Wimbush burned Maiden for 129 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just six carries. Last week against Foard he gained 163 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Fellow sophomore Tyree Rhinehardt is yet another scoring threat. Last week Rhinehardt had only one carry but turned it into a 30-yard touchdown run.

The Red Tornadoes utilize two quarterbacks, both of whom are freshmen. The passing game was important last week against Foard. Michael Helms went 3-5-0 for 76 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He also completed a 2-point conversion pass to Stinson. Kyle Johnson was 2-3-0 for 27 yards in the passing department. He also scored a touchdown on a one-yard keeper.

If Hickory goes to the air tomorrow night the most likely targets will be sophomores Ciani Vega and Steven Davenport, freshman Jordan Walls-Davis (all wide receivers), sophomore tight end Michael Payne, and Casey Stinson coming out of the backfield. Vega and Davenport both caught touchdown passes last Thursday against Foard.

Last year's Hickory-Newton JV game at Gurley Stadium was a barnburner. If you don't normally attend the JV games you don't know what you're missing! You don't want to miss this one, believe me.

GO HICKORY!

Final thoughts on the Foard game

It's official. Strange days are here. If I had written last spring that six games into the 2008 season the Red Tornadoes would be 3-3 but with victories over Bandys and Maiden and also 0-2 at Frank Barger Stadium after losing to St. Stephens and Fred T. Foard, well, you would have laughed at me. But that's where we're at in Week 8 as we face a road trip to Newton this Friday. It's more than a little nerve-wracking to think that Hickory is at .500 with the Red Devils and Hibriten left to deal with.

Here's some more weirdness. When was the last time anybody attended a Hickory football game and saw 28 points scored but no rushing touchdowns? For that matter how bizarre is it that the first seven touchdowns in a Hickory-Foard game were on pass plays? But it was entertaining.

I'm late with this summary because this game provided a lot of food for thought. I will approach it by reviewing the three things that I said Hickory must do in order to win the game.

I would love to see Hickory get the ball first to start the game. If that happens then it is crucial that the Tornado offensive line establish itself and take control of the line of scrimmage. They have to play angry (but under control) and get very physical with the Tiger D-line. If Hickory can dominate the line of scrimmage then the Tornadoes will be able to run the ball effectively which will, in turn, loosen things up for the passing game. By contrast, if the Tornado O-line can't get any push against the Tigers then it will be a long night. The same goes for the Hickory defensive front. We simply can't afford to have the safety making all the tackles tonight. If Mikey Shook is forced to be the run stopper then Hickory will lose, period.

Hickory jumped out to a 21-6 lead, which was completely opposite of the way Fred T. Foard normally starts a game. So that was a mini-victory for the Red Tornadoes. The line was blocking and good things were happening because of it. Rakim Barrett finished the game with 182 yards on just 15 carries. That's a per-carry average of 12.1, which is the kind of effective running that we saw from him last season. Overall the Tornadoes rushed for 267 yards, certainly enough production to win a game in most cases. Kevin Shelton had a good night throwing the football, completing 50% of his passes for 118 yards and four touchdowns. I'm still looking but I can't find a Hickory game where the Tornado quarterback threw four touchdown passes. I've found several with three touchdown passes, but not four. And not only that but Hickory had four different receivers catching those TD passes. Last week I praised Foard for spreading the scoring around and so I have to give the Tornado offense props, too. Hickory had seven different players catch passes. That's good variety and, frankly, 118 passing yards combined with 267 rushing yards should always be enough for Hickory to win a game - if the defense is taking care of its business...

Michael Shook was the leading tackler (for the 3rd time in the last five games) and that just highlights how bad a night it was for the Tornado defense. Yes, the defense got after the Tigers early in the game. I saw some outstanding individual efforts from the cornerbacks in one-on-one situations with the Foard wide receivers. I loved the way David Dula fought for and won the battle with Trent Safrit for a pass that would have been a touchdown but, instead, became an interception. I've already praised Mikey Shook for his 14 solo tackles that, in most cases, were touchdown-saving stops. Tyler Barnette's punt block was excellent and set up Hickory's second touchdown. So the defense was making stops and setting up the offense to score. But once the score reached 21-6 the rest of the game was a long, frustrating retreat. Rakim Barrett's fumble late in the second quarter was quickly converted by the Tigers into a touchdown that closed the gap to 21-14, giving Foard the edge in momentum going into halftime. The third quarter was a draw with each team scoring a touchdown. Hickory held a slim 28-21 lead two minutes into the fourth quarter. Then came the collapse. After that the Tiger offense had its way with the Tornado defense. It was ugly. But even before that you couldn't help but feel that the Tiger offense was rapidly gaining confidence in its ability to move the ball. In thse situations there is simply no room for errors. The difference between this season and past seasons is that teams like St. Stephens and Fred T. Foard are good enough to exploit Hickory's mistakes whereas most of the time Hickory can get away with some sloppy play. The goal now must be eliminating the sloppiness. It's way too expensive these days.

Hickory must not panic if the Tigers start the game with a scoring blitz. The Tigers are known for piling on the points early in the game and then coasting. Last week was the first time all year that the Tiger starters had to play in the second half - and they lost. So whatever happens with the Tigers on offense it is important that the Tornadoes not let it rattle them. Being able to run the ball effectively will help that situation. Also, Isenhour only throws the ball 9-10 times a game, no more than that. If the defense can shut down the passing game in the first half it should not be a factor in the second half. But they must always be on the alert for a Hail Mary downfield. Foard loves to score on the "big play."

The Tigers did indeed score in bunches but they flipped the script by doing it at the end of the game rather than the beginning. I was thrilled to see Hickory jump out to a 21-6 lead and assumed that they had successfully negated the "shock and awe" that Foard likes to inflict on an opponent to start the game. But the deluge did finally come and it turned a close game into an embarrassing one. I guessed wrong about Foard's passing game. They stuck with it even though it was not immediately successful. In the end they wound up with better passing numbers than Hickory. But that didn't stop Quinton Owens from having a career night rushing the ball. And the Tigers continued to specialize in the big play. Landon Isenhour complete to Jameel Owens for a 23-yard touchdown pass. Isenhour complete to Chase Robinson for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Isenhour complete to Safrit for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Quinton Owens scores on a 68-yard run. As I said last week, the Tigers are scary fast.

Hickory must avoid turnovers and costly penalties. Since the loss at Statesville the Tornado ballcarriers have been very good at holding onto the football. Sure, in the downpour last Friday there were some fumbles but they did not affect the outcome of the game. Fumbles are going to happen in the rain. Tonight, however, will be clear and cool - perfect football weather. No excuses tonight. Hickory can't afford to give the Tigers any breaks. The same goes for penalties. Hickory is still one of the most penalized teams in the area. The yellow flags can absolutely ruin a good gameplan and make players become reluctant and hesitant. And the Tigers definitely don't need the help. Hopefully we will have a qualified crew of striped-shirts who won't feel the need to make themselves bigger than the game itself.

Turnovers and penalties can absolutely kill you in a tight ballgame. Hickory fumbled twice and Foard recovered the ball both times. And both times the Tigers immediately made Hickory pay for it. On Foard's first play after recovering Rakim's fumble (which came at the end of a nice run) Isenhour hit Chase Robinson for a 43-yard touchdown. In the fourth quarter a bungled snap from center by Hickory was recovered by Foard. On the next play Isenhour scored on a 13-yard keeper. Two fumbles, two touchdowns. It doesn't get any simpler than that. David Dula threw an interception late in the game that also led eventually to a Tiger touchdown but by then the game was already lost. Statistically speaking, the penalty situation for Hickory wasn't bad. Officially, the Tornadoes were only penalized three times for 30 yards, which is by far the lowest total this season. But still Hickory shot itself in the foot with needless penalties. With first-and-goal on the Tiger five, Hickory had back-to-back penalties that pushed the Tornadoes back to the 15 yard line. One of the penalties was for lining up offsides. Why does that happen? So instead of scoring a touchdown Hickory was forced to try a field goal. That attempt was ruined by a bad snap. Failure in the red zone due to stupid penalties and poor execution by the special teams. That's a prime example of why Hickory is at .500 for the season.

There are some good things happening these days for Hickory. But for every positive aspect there is a nagging problem that has yet to be solved. The good news is that the problems are fixable. The bad news is that time is running out.


Trevin Parks wins a battle with Jameel Owens

The Triple T Award is back in familiar hands...

The Terrible Terry Tate Defensive MVP Award goes to senior safety Michael Shook for the second time this season. He has been the team's leading tackler in four of Hickory's six games. His tackle stats last week were more impressive than ever - which is both good and bad. I'm certainly excited about his hustle and his talent for getting to the man with the football and taking him down. However, I am not happy that our safety is having to make all the tackles!

I made mention of it in my pre-game post.

"We simply can't afford to have the safety making all the tackles tonight. If Mikey Shook is forced to be the run stopper then Hickory will lose, period."

Well, Mikey led the team in tackles with 25. That's 12 more than the second guy on the list, Buddy Withers. So not only was Mikey the top tackler but he was the top tackler by a mile! We're running a 4-4 defense, people. With eight men in the box why is the safety leading the team in tackles almost every week? Why is it that Shook's total of 25 is more than the combined tackles of Cole Smithey, Drew Siciliano, Clay Johnson, Dijon McGill, Chavis Shuford, Alex Dezayas and D.J. Holloway? Shook had 14 solo tackles. Basically this means that 14 times in the game if Mikey doesn't make the tackle, the Tigers score. What's up with that? Just sayin'...

Succop Named Draddy Semifinalist

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, semifinalists must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. Established to honor former NFF Chairman Vincent dePaul Draddy, a Manhattan College quarterback who developed the Izod and Lacoste brands, the award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy and a $25,000 post-graduate scholarship.

"The Draddy Trophy is one of college football's most sought after and competitive awards," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning whose sons Peyton (Draddy winner) and Eli were named NFF National Scholar-Athletes in 1997 and 2003, respectively. "It recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership, and we're incredibly proud to select the next winner from this remarkable group of semifinalists."

Click here to read more about the Draddy Award.

Ben & Jerry's anyone?

It's "Vol Week" for my Georgia Bulldogs and even though I wish Hickory's own Austin Johnson the best of luck in everything he does I am still a Dawg fan. So I thought I'd highlight this post from
Blogging Pantsless in which Mackalicious gives some ideas for new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavors with a Volunteer twist. For instance...

Rocky Topper - There is no better comfort food than this. Portable and refreshing, Rocky Topper is a spirit-warming base of corn whiskey ice cream with a blast of peanut butter & jelly sandwich bits. Under each lid is a picture of Tee Martin giving you a smile, a wink, and a thumbs up with a passage reading, "Never give up."

ENJOY!

Pick 'em Week 7 recap

This past Friday night was not a good one for picking games. I deliberately picked Bunker Hill to knock off a Bandys squad that was playing without its quarterback and top receiver. I thought it might be a the perfect time for the Bears to take advantage, especially since they were at home. The Trojans won the game anyway. But at least I can take some comfort in the that fact that they won it the way I said they would: unleashing tailback Josh McCombs.

As for the St. Stephens-West Caldwell game, I honestly don't know why I picked West Caldwell. That was a case of me being in a hurry and typing the wrong team. I never thought West would beat Saint but somehow I typed it anyway and so that's my tough luck.

And then there was my usual blunder with South Caldwell. I thought Butch and the boys from Sawmills were ready to mug Cryin' Mike Biggerstaff's Cavs but turns out "them Icard boys" are desperate to enjoy this, the program's final season of football glory before sinking into the abyss that is waiting to engulf them once Draughn's varsity program gets cranked up next season. Tick tock, Cavaliers...

Congratulations to Queen Patrice Baptista!

3 things Hickory must do tonight

Forget about the past. Forget about all the times that the Red Tornadoes have crushed the Tigers. None of that matters now because the 2008 Fred T. Foard Tigers are a very good football team. Everybody needs to understand that the Red Tornadoes are the underdogs in this contest. The fans need to approach the game with that in mind. What does it mean? It means that every first down, every good play, every hard hit by the Tornadoes needs to cause an explosion of cheering in the stands. There will be no throwaway plays in this game. Here is what Hickory needs to accomplish in order to win this game.

1. I would love to see Hickory get the ball first to start the game. If that happens then it is crucial that the Tornado offensive line establish itself and take control of the line of scrimmage. They have to play angry (but under control) and get very physical with the Tiger D-line. If Hickory can dominate the line of scrimmage then the Tornadoes will be able to run the ball effectively which will, in turn, loosen things up for the passing game. By contrast, if the Tornado O-line can't get any push against the Tigers then it will be a long night. The same goes for the Hickory defensive front. We simply can't afford to have the safety making all the tackles tonight. If Mikey Shook is forced to be the run stopper then Hickory will lose, period.

2. Hickory must not panic if the Tigers start the game with a scoring blitz. The Tigers are known for piling on the points early in the game and then coasting. Last week was the first time all year that the Tiger starters had to play in the second half - and they lost. So whatever happens with the Tigers on offense it is important that the Tornadoes not let it rattle them. Being able to run the ball effectively will help that situation. Also, Isenhour only throws the ball 9-10 times a game, no more than that. If the defense can shut down the passing game in the first half it should not be a factor in the second half. But they must always be on the alert for a Hail Mary downfield. Foard loves to score on the "big play."

3. Hickory must avoid turnovers and costly penalties. Since the loss at Statesville the Tornado ballcarriers have been very good at holding onto the football. Sure, in the downpour last Friday there were some fumbles but they did not affect the outcome of the game. Fumbles are going to happen in the rain. Tonight, however, will be clear and cool - perfect football weather. No excuses tonight. Hickory can't afford to give the Tigers any breaks. The same goes for penalties. Hickory is still one of the most penalized teams in the area. The yellow flags can absolutely ruin a good gameplan and make players become reluctant and hesitant. And the Tigers definitely don't need the help. Hopefully we will have a qualified crew of striped-shirts who won't feel the need to make themselves bigger than the game itself.

GO HICKORY!!

It's October 3rd. On this date in...

1958 backfield l-r: Rudisill, Jackson, Isenhour, Huffman


1958: The Red Tornadoes celebrated Homecoming by crushing their archrivals from Newton-Conover by a score of 45-6. Hickory's offensive backfield, led by junior halfback Larry "Red" Rudisill, was stellar against the Red Devils. Rudisill racked up 204 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries (14.6 yards per carry). Also scoring touchdowns for Hickory were junior halfback Richard Jackson, senior quarterback Harper "Hoppy" Huffman (twice), sophomore fullback Gene Isenhour and junior fullback Barney Deal. Newton-Conover avoided the shutout by scoring in the last minute of the contest. The win improved Hickory's record to 5-0. The Red Tornadoes would go 11-0 before losing Asheboro in the WNCHSAA title game.

1969: Hickory defeated the Eagles of East Mecklenburg in a key District 6, Southwestern 4A Conference matchup. In a defensive struggle the difference maker was senior Chuck Munday's remarkable special teams performance. Munday, who would play in the Shrine Bowl, punted four times for an average of 46.5 yards. Time and time again he got the Red Tornadoes out of bad field position and put the pressure back on East Meck. Hickory scored first with 7:14 left in the first quarter. Halfback Claude "Cool Breeze" Evans broke loose for two large gains as the Tornadoes moved 66 yards on their first drive of the game. On the first play Evans ran around right end for 18 yards. On the next play Evans again got the call and scampered for 28 yards to the Eagle 28 yard line. After two plays gained only one yard quarterback Ricky Dula kept the ball on a sweep around left end and gained 26 yards to the one. He scored on the next play. Fullback David Williams kicked the PAT and Hickory had a 7-0 lead. East Meck got on the board in the third quarter on a 64-yard touchdown run by James Barber. Quarterback Joe Thompson completed a pass on the 2-point conversion attempt but it was nullified by a penalty. On the next attempt the Tornado defense snuffed it out to preserve a 7-6 lead. That's how the game ended. The Hickory defense was led by Lee Bost and Marvin Everett (who would join Chuck Munday in the Shrine Bowl).

1975: The Big One. Hickory played Newton-Conover for the first time since 1967. Many oldtimers still consider Don Patrick's 1975 Red Devil squad to be the best in school history. Newton-Conover featured two great running backs, Butch Baker and Dennis McCorkle, and a rock-ribbed defense. The Red Devils were 4-0 going into the contest. Hickory was 3-1 and also had a quality tailback in Herbert Thompson. The Red Tornadoes also had a stout defensive unit. In the end, it was the two defenses who ruled the evening. In those kinds of games the special teams will always decide who wins. Such was the case on this night 33 years ago. It would have been a good night for David Bumgarner simply because he recovered two Red Devil fumbles. But with 2:20 left to play in a 0-0 game Bumgarner gave the Tornado Nation something to shout about when he calmly nailed a 25-yard field goal. Newton tried to win the game in the final minute by going to the air. Barry Wilson's first-down pass fell short. His second pass caused a controversy when it looked to some that Donnie Newsome had made a great catch but the officials ruled that he had trapped the ball. On third down Wilson's pass was deflected by Hickory's Berry Dunlap. On Newton's last gasp Ronnie Hopper (yes, Coach Hopper!) knocked the ball away. The final 3-0 score was extremely sweet for Coach Frank Barger and his Tornadoes.

1997: Hickory slaughtered the East Lincoln Mustangs, 35-6. The victory was Hickory's 22nd in a row, which broke the previous school record. There was no emotional letdown a week after the huge victory over Mooresville. The Red Tornadoes spread the scoring opportunities among several key players. Lee Wilson began the touchdown parade on a three-yard run. Anthony Foust got on the board next with an 11-yard run. Then it was quarterback Tim Swanson's turn when he connected with Menyel Flowers on a 49-yard touchdown pass. Wesley Gatewood got in on the act with a 49-yard touchdown run. Even rarely-used tailback Thomas Farley hit paydirt. He scored on a 30-yard run. Cory Morgan was A-U-T-O-matic on his PATs. The Mustangs avoided the shutout in the third quarter on a two-yard quarterback keeper.

2003: Hickory racked up 509 yards of total offense and 56 points against St. Stephens while holding the Indians to a mere 84 yards and no points. Quarterback Chris Rogers scored on a 12-yard run to start the scoring. Fullback Paul Martin followed that up with a burst from four yards out. The Tornadoes exploded for four touchdowns in the second quarter. First Rogers scored again from the four. Ryan Succop's PAT went wide. Then Alex Wilson scored from the 10. Rogers sneaked in for the 2-point conversion. Martin bulled his way in on a seven-yard run. Then came the shocker: Rogers went deep to split end Keon Hill for a 49-yard touchdown. Coach Worley took his foot off the gas pedal in the second half. Wilson got his second touchdown of the night on a 28-yard run. Finally, third-string tailback Ryan Greene reached the end zone from six yards out. Ironically, Hickory's leading rusher, Kejuan Wright, finished with 162 yards on just 9 carries (18 yards per carry) but never got into the end zone.

Good times!

Junior Varsity crushes Fred T. Foard

Tyree Rhinehardt on his way to paydirt


The Young Tornadoes maintained their lead in a tight conference race by whipping the Tiger Kittens 40-14 in their own stadium. Quarterback Michael Helms had a good night throwing the football. He found Steven Davenport on a 14-yard touchdown pass and later hit Ciani Vega for a 46-yard score.

The ground attack wrecked the Foard defense from the beginning. After Hickory gave up a quick touchdown on Foard's opening drive of the contest the Tornado backs began running it right down the Tigers' throats. T.J. Wimbush had a big night and scored a touchdown. Also scoring rushing touchdowns for Hickory were Kyle Johnson, Casey Stinson and Tyree Rhinehardt.

The offensive line did well despite the loss of center Deangelo Morzon, who has been moved up to the varsity squad. Congratulations to Deangelo! And congratulations to his replacement, freshman Trey Huffman. Trey did a fine job in his first start and the O-line squad didn't miss a beat. I also noticed that another freshman, Torian Powell, started at right tackle. I'm not sure if that was his first start but I'm glad to see him continuing to improve.

The defense had a good night, despite giving up 14 points. Inside linebacker Michael Payne abused the Tigers on several occasions. The entire linebacker corps of Payne, Alex Williams, Jake Meade and Kyle Johnson is both mobile and hostile. I'd also like to praise the rest of the defense: line stalwarts Ryan Tyree, Perry Moore, Jordan Williams and Tyree Rhinehardt; cornerbacks Steven Davenport and Shaquan Reid and safety Dametrius Lewis.

Hickory's record is now 4-0 in the CVAC and 5-0 overall. The win was the JV's 61st consecutive and 80th in the last 81 games. Next week the Young Tornadoes will return to Frank Barger Stadium to host the very dangerous Red Devils of Newton-Conover.

Williams, Johnson, Payne and Meade attack!

Breaking down this week's CVAC games

With the exception of the Hickory-Foard game the pickings are pretty easy tonight. The big question is whether or not Bandys has enough firepower to escape Bunker Hill with a win. The Trojans are flying without their ace quarterback Kyle Houser and his favorite wingman Seth Cranfill (not to mention tackle Kyle Talbert) due to their two-game suspension for fighting in last week's game with West Caldwell. NCHSAA rules are specific: If a player is ejected from a game for fighting then he will be ineligible to participate in the next two games. Hibriten looks to hammer another nail in Maiden's coffin while Patton visits Gurley Stadium to face the Red Devils. Good luck with that! St. Stephens versus West Caldwell? Yawn.

BANDYS (1-2, 2-3) AT BUNKER HILL (1-2, 1-4)

Series Notes: These two teams have played each other 50 times with Bandys winning 26 of the contests. Bunker Hill's last victory over Bandys was in 2000.

What to look for tonight: It's been a season of streak-breaking victories and this could be another one. The engine that makes the Bandys offense run not be on the field tonight. Without Kyle Houser the Trojans are in danger of becoming very one dimensional. If they try to maintain their usual passing attack with a first-time starter it could be disastrous. I believe Coach Lowman will emphasize the running game tonight to relieve the pressure on the new quarterback. The Trojans are capable of pounding the ball with Josh McCombs and Trent Millsaps against a thin Bear defense. I don't think the Trojans will abandon the passing game altogether, however. But the rushing game will be used to set up the pass, which is not how Bandys normally operates. Even though Cranfill is banned for two games there are still some highly-qualified receivers to utilize. The Bears can also pass the ball and Davontaye Wilson has breakaway speed. Bunker Hill may be able to mix things up on offense just enough to create some chaos for the Trojan defense. Remember that the Trojans have not been particularly stingy on that side of the ball this season.

MAIDEN (0-3, 1-4) AT HIBRITEN (3-0, 5-0)

Series Notes: These two teams haven't played each other very often but Maiden has dominated the series, 6-1. Maiden has never lost in Hibriten's Jeff Storie Memorial Stadium.

What to look for tonight: Maiden has never lost to Hibriten in Lenoir...until tonight. Hibriten is simply too good this season to blow it against a team like Maiden. The Blue Devil faithful are all scratching their heads and talking out loud about all the "talent" Maiden has and wondering why such talented players aren't doing a better job. The answer is simple: Maiden does not have talent on their team this season. The big name coming into the season was Justin Sizemore, the quarterback. But after five games he has looked merely average at best. He has thrown almost three times as many interceptions as he has touchdowns. How pathetic is that? Even his raw numbers are unimpressive, despite the fact that he is a spread formation quarterback. Hibriten runs the ball well enough that the Panthers may not even bother with the passing game tonight. They will control the ball, run that clock and shorten the game. Last year the Blue Devils upset the Panthers in Tom Brown Stadium. There's zero chance of that happening tonight up in Lenoir.

PATTON (2-1, 3-2) AT NEWTON-CONOVER (3-0, 5-0)

Series Notes: These two teams have never played each other.

What to look for tonight: There is a chance that the Panthers might put up more of a fight than most people would expect. But honestly, I don't see Patton knocking off the Red Devils. Last week Newton-Conover defeated Foard, the most experienced team in the league. The first-year varsity program from Morganton doesn't even know what it's like to deal with the Devils in Gurley Stadium. One matchup that will be somewhat interesting will be the duel between Newton's Dorian Jones and Patton's Brandon Bethel. Statistically they are two of the best backs in the CVAC. Jones is more experienced and more versatile but Bethel is a quality young running back. He will be even better next season. There are interesting similarities between Newton quarterback A.J. Bazzle and Patton quarterback Cody Story. They are capable of getting first downs with their feet as well as their throwing arms. When it's all said and done, however, Patton will head home with its second CVAC loss.

ST. STEPHENS (1-2, 3-2) AT WEST CALDWELL (0-3, 0-5)

Series Notes: West Caldwell owns the series, 11-4, but the Indians have won the last two games.

What to look for tonight: Tonight's game will mark the beginning of a five-game winning streak for the Indians. Hear me now, believe me later people! The Indians have two conference losses but that's only because they've already played the top two teams in the league. In fact, they have played perhaps the three toughest CVAC opponents they will face all season. The only quality team left on Saint's schedule is Fred T. Foard on November 7th. The local "professional experts" will probably trip all over themselves praising the magnificent "turnaround" of the Indians. Don't be fooled, though. The reason the Indians are about to embark on winning streak is because the teams they are playing include the following: West Caldwell (0-5), Bunker Hill (1-4), Bandys (2-3), Patton (3-2) and Maiden (1-4). It's too soon to tell how well the Indians will do against Fred T. Foard. If I'm right about this, then it just illustrates how crucial the Hickory-Foard game is to the playoff picture. St. Stephens could very well be 6-2 in the CVAC going into the final week of the regular season.

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.

Pick 'em Week 7

Without a doubt the biggest game in the Unifour this Friday night will take place at Frank Barger Stadium on the campus of Hickory High. It's Homecoming at Hickory and what better way to celebrate it than with a shocking win over the Tigers of Fred T. Foard. Both teams are still in the hunt for at least a share of the CVAC title but when the game is over one of them will be out of the running. The other big matchup in the area has Cryin' Mike Biggerstaff and his sub-.500 Cavaliers visiting Sawmills to take on Butch Carter's Spartans. I've been wrong about South Caldwell the past couple of weeks. We'll see how it goes this around. Let's get ready to rummmmmmmmmmble!

Fred T. Foard at Hickory
Winner: Hickory

East Burke at South Caldwell
Winner: South Caldwell

Bandys at Bunker Hill
Winner: Bunker Hill

Maiden at Hibriten
Winner: Hibriten

Patton at Newton-Conover
Winner: Newton-Conover

St. Stephens at West Caldwell
Winner: West Caldwell

McDowell at Freedom
Winner: Freedom

A.C. Reynolds at Alexander Central
Winner: A.C. Reynolds

Watauga at Shelby
Winner: Shelby

Thinking about Fred T. Foard

Did you know that this year marks the Golden Anniversary of Fred T. Foard football? It was in 1958 that the first Tiger football squad took the field. And throughout the past half-century there have been a few "big moments" for Tiger football. Most of them took place back in the early 1980s. A few more moments happened about 10 years ago. The 2008 season has already gotten off to a historic start for the Tigers and has all the earmarks of being one of the best seasons in school history.

Make no mistake about it: Beating the Red Tornadoes in Frank Barger Stadium on Hickory's Homecoming would be the icing on the cake. Not to mention that a Tiger victory on Friday would eliminate Hickory from the CVAC title chase and seriously jeopardize our playoff hopes. It's happened before. In 2000 the Tigers defeated a depleted Tornado team in Frank Barger Stadium and prevented Hickory from making the postseason. That was the second and last time the Tigers got a win over the Red Tornadoes. Hickory has won the last seven meetings between the schools. Click here for more information about the Tigers.

Here are some Wednesday observations about the Tigers.

The Tigers are extremely athletic and have speed on both sides of the ball. It's a scary thought, actually, but I believe in this respect the Tigers are a lot like Catholic. Quinton Owens, Jaheil Washington, Alex Miller, Trent Safrit, Tyler Ruth and others are as fast a group as any Hickory has faced this year, including Statesville. The evidence can be found when you look at how Fred T. Foard scores its points. Take the season-opening win over South Caldwell. After spotting the Spartans a touchdown in the first quarter the Tigers scored 33 unanswered points on five touchdowns. Touchdown #1: Quinton Owens on a 53-yard run. Touchdown #2: Trent Safrit on a 50-yard pass from Landon Isenhour. Touchdown #3: Alex Miller on an 18-yard run. Touchdown #4: Jake Sweatt on a 66-yard pass from Isenhour. Touchdown #5: Jaheil Washington on a 27-yard run. That's five different players winding up in the end zone. That's multi-dimensional football. That, my friends, is an arsenal.

Although it was the slaughter of Maiden in Tom Brown Stadium that first caught people's attention and sounded the alarm that the Tigers are "for real," I believe that Foard's most impressive victory was the opener against South Caldwell. The offense averaged 7.2 yards per carry. The passing game averaged 37.5 yards per reception. Half of Landon Isenhour's pass completions were for touchdowns. The Tigers did not turn the ball over. They were only flagged six times for 55 yards. And perhaps the most impressive thing of all is that Foard was not at all affected by South Caldwell's clear advantage in size. One of the knocks against Foard this year is that they are not very big. South Caldwell, on the other hand, is huge. So the wishful thinking that maybe Foard can be pushed around by a more physical team was disproved in the very first week of the season. Which doesn't mean that the Tigers are ready to take on the Carolina Panthers. Size alone is not a guarantee. Size + speed + power is the killer. Somewhere down the line Foard may face a team with players who are both big and fast, but realistically that won't happen till they are deep in the playoffs.

The Tigers score points in bunches. They score a lot of points early in the game. They score points in a variety ways. Last week I mentioned that while Newton-Conover likes to play rope-a-dope in the first half the Tigers like to go for a quick kill. When you break down the Tiger scoring by quarters you will see that they have outscored the opposition 62-22 in the first quarter and 64-0 in the second quarter. More specifically, the Tigers gave up a touchdown to South Caldwell in the first quarter of the first game of the season and then did not allow another score in the first half until last week when Newton got off to a fast start and put up 15 points in the first quarter. How did Foard respond to suddenly being down 15-0? The Tigers roared back (no pun intended) in the second quarter and scored 20 points while shutting the Devils down to take a 20-15 lead into halftime. The Tigers are capable of overwhelming an opponent but they do not get rattled by what the opponent is able to accomplish against them. And it's not good enough to simply stop the offense. Against West Lincoln the Tigers opened the scoring on a 95-yard kickoff return by Quinton Owens. Later in the game Tiger linebacker Jake Sweatt scored on a 49-yard interception return. In the Maiden game it was Quinton Owens scoring four first-half touchdowns on runs of six, five and nine yards, followed by a 28-yard interception return. Against Patton the Tigers scored a touchdown when Taylor Lassiter recovered a Panther fumble and took that 65 yards "to the house." What's the common denominator? You guessed it: speed!

Tiger quarterback Landon Isenhour reminds me of former Red Tornado quarterback Chris Rogers. The things that I really appreciated about Chris were his speed and his toughness. There is no question that Chris Rogers was one of the fastest quarterbacks in Hickory's long football history. His running ability gave Hickory an extra weapon in 2003 and proved deadly to the opposition. He was a decent passer and also just a tough hombre. I see all those qualities in Isenhour. He is a three-sport athlete who can run, throw and take a hit. He had a 55-yard touchdown run against West Lincoln. He's rushed for 186 yards so far this season. He averages more than 100 yards passing per game. He can scramble and he doesn't make bad decisions. He is a leader and a prime example of the experience and efficiency of the Tiger offensive machine.

If Isenhour is the leader then Quinton Owens is the spark for the Tigers. He is Foard's leading rusher and also a key member of the defensive secondary. He also is a dangerous return man. He has already scored touchdowns not just on offense but defense and special teams as well. But he is just one of several playmakers the Tigers can rely on for production. Jaheil Washington is right behind Owens on the rushing charts. Alex Miller and fullback Micah Huffman are also valuable. The Tiger receiving corps is as dangerous as any Hickory will face this season.

The Tiger defense leads the CVAC in almost every category. That's pretty much all you need to know about Foard's prowess on that side of the line of scrimmage. Only Hibriten has allowed fewer points this season. The Tiger defense couldn't maintain Foard's halftime lead last week and it cost them their first loss of the season. Odds are good that they will be looking to atone for that this week against Hickory...

THIS MEANS WAR!