Busy week for Red Tornado football

I took the weekend off from posting in part because this will be one busy and exciting week for Red Tornado football program.

It starts tonight with a crucial contest at Frank Barger Stadium against the Hibriten Panthers. Hibriten is currently the 7th-ranked team in the state for Class 2A. Technically speaking the Panthers are a half-game behind Newton-Conover and Fred T. Foard in the CVAC championship race. The Panthers will be looking to keep pace with those two teams. Hickory is in a tight battle with St. Stephens for an automatic playoff berth. Hibriten is hoping to beat Hickory for the first time ever. The Red Tornadoes would love to shock the state by pulling off a huge upset.

This week Kevin Shelton should go over 1,000 yards passing for the season. He only needs 38 more yards. This goal could be reached by the end of the first quarter tonight. Also, Rakim Barrett should return to action and he could possibly break 1,000 yards rushing for the season this week. He is currently 142 yards short of that mark. To beat Hibriten we may need him to get all those yards tonight. But if he doesn't quite get it all tonight then he certainly will before the week is over.

There will be more football action at Frank Barger Stadium on Wednesday night when Hickory's middle schools, Northview (6-1) and Grandview (5-1) square off in the 51st city championship game. Thanks to Northview's 20-6 victory last Wednesday over previously-undefeated Mill Creek, the winner of the city championship will also clinch at least a share of the county title. The future Red Tornadoes who wear the blue and white of Northview or the red and white of Grandview always put on a great show.

On Thursday night the Tornado JV returns home to face West Caldwell. The Young Tornadoes will be looking to win their 65th consecutive game and, more importantly, maintain their one-game lead on the Bunker Hill Bears, who play Newton this Thursday. If Bunker Hill can beat the Red Devils then they will have a chance to get a share of the CVAC title if they can beat Hickory next week. That's a big "if" though.

Friday night the varsity will travel to Gamewell to take on the totally defeated Warriors. After a brutal month of football it's time for Hickory to enjoy the cupcake portion of the CVAC schedule.

And for me, the Dawg fan, Saturday is huge! Georgia takes on Florida in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville. The Gators want revenge for "the Celebration" last year? Forget that! Georgia wants revenge for the 1990s! Go Dawgs!

Tornado JV blasts Patton, 42-0

Shaquan Reid approaching warp speed

For the first time since 1996 a Hickory football team traveled to Morganton for a game. The last time it happened, September 27, 1996, the Red Tornado varsity spanked previously undefeated Freedom by the score of 33-14. Of course the Red Tornadoes spanked everybody that year.

Last Thursday night it was the undefeated Tornado JV's turn to bring home victory. Mission accomplished!

Sophomore tailback T.J. Wimbush continued his rampage through the CVAC, ringing up a pair of touchdown runs of 16 and 20 yards respectively. But he had some friendly competition from Shaquan Reid. The freshman speedster also scored two touchdowns, each from 14 yards out. Keep in mind that Reid is a starter at cornerback but is just one of several reserve running backs for the Young Tornadoes. Another backup, Dalvin Parson, got his first touchdown run of the season. Also scoring was sophomore fullback Jake Meade.

The win was Hickory JV's 63rd in a row and also its 82nd out of the past 83 games going back to the middle of the 2000 season. The win also maintained Hickory's slim lead in the CVAC championship chase, one game ahead of Bunker Hill. With showdown looming in three weeks with the Bears, Hickory must first travel to Lenoir this coming Thursday for a tough game with the Hibriten Panthers. The last two Hickory-Hibriten encounters have gone down to the wire. This week's game probably won't be any different. Hibriten beat Newton-Conover, 34-13, to improve its record to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the CVAC.

GO HICKORY!!

Representing on the sideline!

Getting back on track

Tonight the playoffs truly begin for our Red Tornadoes. Earlier this week I laid out a scenario that requires Hickory to plan on winning all four of its remaining games in order to finish ahead of St. Stephens in the final CVAC standings. Remember, the two teams must not finish in a tie because the tiebreaker goes to St. Stephens by virtue of last month's historic victory over Hickory.

The Red Tornadoes already have three CVAC losses. St. Stephens only has two. Hickory is favored to win three of its final games with next week's home game against Hibriten providing the big challenge. If Hickory goes 3-1 in the last four games and St. Stephens goes 3-1 (assuming a loss to Fred T. Foard in the season finale) then the Indians finish a game ahead of Hickory. If St. Stephens goes 2-2 and Hickory goes 3-1 then they finish in a tie, which is the same as a win for the Indians.

Of course it is possible, perhaps even likely, that Hickory will get a wildcard spot in the playoffs. Generally speaking, a team needs to have four wins in order to qualify for a wildcard berth. But the bottom line, of course, is that the brackets must be filled. Teams with only three wins have made the playoffs in the past. So if the final four games don't quite work out the way I have described, the Red Tornadoes can still go. It's just not guaranteed and you can expect to see Hickory go on the road to face one of West's top teams.

But there is only one priority tonight: Just win baby!

Did Grandview win? Yep.

Did Northview win? Yep.

Did the JV win? Duh!

Now it's time for the varsity to get in there and take care of business. Then we'll see where we are when the night is over.

Having a good time at the JV game

ABOVE and BELOW...Varsity players and other members of the Mighty Tornado Nation enjoy a Thursday night at Indian Stadium as the Young Tornadoes administer another beating!

Tornado Nation: The Next Generation!

They'rrrrrrrrre Baaaaaaaack!