"I'm gonna put this right foot..."

Of the four games that Hickory and Kings Mountain played against each other earlier in this decade I think my favorite was the first one. Like tonight, the Red Tornadoes made the trip down to Kings Mountain to take on the Mountaineers. Like tonight, the game turned out to be KM's last game of the season.

The thing that sticks out in my mind the most is not that fact that Hickory won but how the game was won. And what exactly does Billy Jack have to do with it? Well, it's all about a very talented and dangerous foot.

In 2001 the foot belonged to Hickory's freshman kicking specialist, Ryan Succop. As I am typing this it occurs to me that I was wrong the other week when I said that you had to look to the early- and mid-1990s to find a freshman starting for the varsity in the regular season. I forgot about Ryan Succop. He was a four-year starter on the varsity and was outstanding from beginning to end.

The 2001 encounter between Hickory and Kings Mountain was definitely a defensive struggle. Succop kicked off to the Mountaineers to start the game. The Red Tornado defense forced Kings Mountain to punt after three plays. After the punt Hickory started its drive from the Kings Mountain 42 yard line. Anytime you begin a drive inside enemy territory after a punt you know you're winning the field possession battle.

Hickory used 10 plays to score. The touchdown came on a 10-yard pass from Cole Kenworthy to Craig Barnette. Succop's PAT made the score 7-0.

Kings Mountain looked like it would tie the score late in the second half when Aquino Simmons appeared to have scored on an eight-yard run. But he fumbled as he crossed the goal line and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Hickory resulting in a touchback.

By the end of the third quarter the scoreboard still showed a 7-0 lead for Hickory. Succop missed two field goals (45 and 50 yards) in the second half but more than made up for it with his punting. But Kings Mountain could not be held out of the end zone forever.

Simmons finally scored for the Mountaineers, on a five-yard run. Pablo Peralta nailed the extra point to tie the game at 7-7. In a game as tight as that anything is possible. But nobody expected what happened next.

Hickory was unable to move the ball. With about 2:00 left in the game Succop was back to punt and he boomed a 52-yarder that was downed inside the Mountaineer one yard line. The Mountaineers ran a play that had Renaldo Tate trying to run to the right. He was hit by Hickory's Richard "Big Cat" Parker and Jamey Yarbrough and buried in the end zone for a safety.

Just like that, Hickory was up 9-7. Hickory then received the kick off and ran out the clock to preserve the stunning victory. The win boosted Hickory to 5-1 in the conference and 7-3 overall. The Red Tornadoes would ultimately finish as the runner-up behind undefeated Crest. Kings Mountain dropped to 6-4 and 3-3. It was the end of their season because they did not make the playoffs.

So, remember what I said about the power of the foot? Here's how it relates to everybody's hero, Billy Jack. Check this out!

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.

Succop does it again!

Former Red Tornado star Ryan Succop has been the most reliable member of the 2008 South Carolina Gamecocks football team. In recognition for his efforts in last Saturday's victory over the University of Alabama-Birmingham Ryan has been selected the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.

This is Ryan's third time to be named SEC Player of the Week. The other two times were following South Carolina's victory over Mississippi State in 2006 and Georgia in 2007. The Ol' Ball Coach will be sorry to see Ryan go, that's for sure!

Great job, Mr. Succop!

Succop does his job perfectly in South Carolina win

In South Carolina's 34-0 route of the NCSU Wolfpack last night our own Ryan Succop did his job perfectly. He kicked field goals of 29 and 46 yards as well as all four extra points. Despite the win the Ol' Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, was not pleased with the performance of his squad. Starting quarterback Tommy Beecher, who played his high school football for Concord High School, was the game's leading passer (106 yards) but failed to complete a touchdown pass. More importantly, he also threw four interceptions!

What are they saying about last night's game today in the blogsphere?

Click here to get the Gamecock perspective.

Click here to get the completely disgruntled Wolfpack perspective.

Ryan did his thing and the SEC team rolled over the ACC team. I'm pleased with it, even if nobody else is!

Succop, Gamecocks on TV against NC State

When the South Carolina Gamecocks kick off their 2008 season tomorrow night at home in Columbia against the NC State Wolfpack it will be former Red Tornado great Ryan Succop (Class of '05) who will literally be doing the kicking. This is Ryan's final season in the Garnet and Black and he is undoubtedly one of the bright stars for the Gamecocks, just as he has been for the past three years. He is currently South Carolina's career leader in field goal percentage at .744 (29 of 39).

The game will be televised on ESPN with a start time of 8:00 PM EST. Here is the link for further information about the game: South Carolina Football Gameday Central.

I want to wish Ryan all the best for the 2008 season and as an SEC man I hope that the Gamecocks beat the crap out of State!