A little bit of Falcon history

D.D. Lewis

Defense has always been a hallmark of the Fulton Falcons and a designation as "Linebacker High" would not be out of line at all. At least that's the way it was in the turbulent 1960s. Today's high school players probably wouldn't recognize the names now but there is no doubt that back in the day nobody was feared more than D.D. Lewis and Jackie Walker.

Lewis was such a headhunter for the Falcons that he earned a scholarship to play for Mississippi State University. But although he was a two-time (1966-67) All-SEC and All-American linebacker for the Bulldogs, Lewis was largely unrecognized as a collegian because Mississippi State didn't have a winning season while he played there. The Dallas Cowboys waited until the sixth round (the 159th pick overall) to take Lewis, who went on to become an All-Pro and play in five Super Bowls in a 13-year professional career. A key member of the Cowboy glory teams of the 1970s, Lewis was a major player in two Super Bowl championships and was also MVP of the Cowboys twice.

If the name Lewis still isn't ringing a bell then how about his teammates...Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, Butch Johnson, Billy Joe Dupree, Golden Richards, Robert Newhouse, Preston Pearson and Rayfield Wright... But those guys were merely the offensive players. The real Cowboys were on defense. There was Harvey Martin, Jethro Pugh, Randy White, Ed "Too Tall" Jones on the front line. Behind them were the linebackers: Bob Breunig, Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson and D.D. Lewis, the ol' Fulton Falcon. The secondary revolved around Benny Barnes, Mel Renfro, Cliff Harris, Aaron Kyle and Charlie Waters. Together they were the Doomsday Defense. Nuff said!

The 1967 Fulton Falcons are perhaps the most revered of all Fulton football squads due to the fact that they are still the only Falcon squad to finish an undefeated season. None of Fulton's recent state championship teams have managed to go the distance without at least one loss. Ironically, the 1967 "Mighty Mites" were not state champions. They were, however, the AA champs of the Knoxville Football League and winners of the Optimist Bowl against Morristown High. Fulton's final record that season was 10-0-1 and featured some very interesting players. None was more famous at the time than senior linebacker Jackie Walker, one of the first African-American athletes to play for a newly integrated Fulton High School. At Fulton he averaged 23 tackles a game his senior season. Then he went on to become the first African-American football player in the Southeastern Conference to be named an All-American and the first to captain an SEC team.


Jackie Walker

Jackie Walker was as tough as they come. He was an All-State selection for his ferocious play on defense. He put at least 2 players in the hospital in 1967 with brutal hits. In the season opener against Rule High School a player named Jim Brannam was sweeping wide when Walker caught him alone at the line of scrimmage knocking him out cold. Their was a collective gasp of a large crowd at Fulton’s home field because the hit was so hard. Brannam lay motionless until he was help off the field. Brannam was taken to the hospital and could not finish the game. Another knockout blow that has become known simply as "the Hit" left another opposing ballcarrier laid out cold and the sound of the hit could be heard all over the stadium and down a nearby hill.

Meanwhile, the University of Tennessee integrated its football team in 1967, and when Walker became eligible to play in 1969, he was one of only three African-Americans on the team. But he quickly established himself as one of UT's top defensive players. Not particularly big for major college football Walker was extremely fast as well as hardhitting. He still holds the NCAA record for most career interceptions returned for touchdowns (5).

By 1971, six African-Americans were playing football for the Volunteers. When the team elected Walker captain for the 1971 season, one of the two alternates was a lineman from Winchester by the name of Phillip Fulmer.

“Though he was always undersized, he was a great player — smart, great speed and toughness,” Fulmer said after a recent spring practice session. “And he was a great person.”

Tim Priest, a teammate and an all-SEC defensive back, said of Walker: "Jackie was a terrific player. Though he was not very big, he had great explosion at the point of contact, as great as anybody I ever saw play.”

But perhaps it was Bear Bryant and his Crimson Tide who paid Jackie Walker the greatest compliment of all.

In his book Career in Crisis: Paul "Bear" Bryant and the 1971 Season of Change, John David Briley included a description of a special play — the Jackie Walker Play — Alabama designed to contain him. The center would stand him up. Another player would hit him from the right. And a third — the future NFL Hall of Famer John Hannah — would hit him from the left.

Jamie Rotella, another Tennessee linebacker during that game, said the triple-teaming scheme was the only time in all the games he played alongside Walker that his teammate was effectively blocked. With Walker neutralized, Alabama prevailed, 32-15.

“We didn’t talk about concussions back then,” Rotella said. “But in hindsight, I guess that’s what happened to Jackie. He was in the defensive huddles and didn’t know where he was. It was really disheartening for the rest of us to see our hero get dinged. He had always been invincible. Of course, it took three of them to do it.”

That's what we call football tough!

Border Bash II: NC squads feature impressive QBs

The Bash is a showcase event matching up three teams from North Carolina against three teams from Tennessee. Obviously I'm going to spend most of my time focusing on Hickory and Hickory's opponent when writing about the Bash. However, there will be four other teams competing in Waynesville this Friday night. The other two North Carolina teams, the host Tuscola Mountaineers and their neighbors from Canton, the Pisgah Black Bears, both feature big, talented quarterbacks who will be playing on Saturdays in the not-too-distant future.

The Black Bears, coached by David Pressley, are led by senior signal caller Tyler Jaynes (6'3 205).
Tyler Jaynes

Jaynes, whose older brother Zack is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Western Carolina, had a terrific junior year in 2007, passing for 3,018 yards and 23 touchdowns enroute to a second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference (4-1 and 10-4 overall). Jaynes attended camps at Chapel Hill, N.C. State and Vanderbilt this summer and is waiting for offers. A big senior season would go a long way towards earning a scholarship and a good showing at the Border Bash would be a nice way to start things off.

And then there's the other Tyler...

Expectations have risen significantly in Waynesville since the end of last season. Coming off a dismal 2-9 campaign in 2006 Tuscola brought in Donnie Keifer, formerly head coach at Gates Co. and East Carteret, to turn things around. Keifer, a Lenoir-Rhyne alumnus, was head coach at Hibriten in the mid-1990s (including 1996 when the Panthers were drubbed by the Tornadoes). Here he is being interviewed by what sounds like a student in August of 2007. Keifer is without a doubt one of the most innovative coaches in North Carolina's high school ranks. But even he might have been dismayed by the situation at Tuscola except for one thing: the Mountaineers had one heck of a young prospect in Tyler Brosius.

Brosius is a 6'3" 220-pound junior who didn't waste any time making a name for himself as a pro-style quarterback. His second varsity start for the Mountaineers was a season-ending, 13-10 upset of heavily-favored T.C. Roberson in 2006. That was the end of a freshman season spent mostly on the JV. At that moment hope returned to the Mountaineer faithful. Then along came Donnie Keifer.

Although it is not his style of football Keifer stayed with the spread offense of his predecessor for the 2007 season in order to best utilize the talents of his sophomore quarterback. The early results were positive. Tuscola began with a 29-26 road victory over East Henderson. Brosius threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers in that one. After a tough loss to Brevard the Mountaineers won the 44th Battle of Haywood County by beating rival Pisgah, 22-6. You know what they say about rivalries, how if you only win one game all year it had better be that one... Well the rest of the season didn't turn out the way Tuscola might have wanted it (2-4 in the Mountain Athletic Conference, 5-7 overall) but it was certainly an improvement.

The Mountaineers will not operate out of the spread formation this season and so there is a chance that the quarterback known as "T-Bro" will not have quite the numbers he had last season (1,769 yards, 20 TDs). But after a full year of work under the tutelage of Coach Keifer the entire team should be much more effective. Brosius himself had a very productive off-season. His intinerary included trips to Las Vegas for an Elite 11 tryout and also a trip to Gainesville to participate in the University of Florida's "Friday Night Lights" event where he and other top prospects worked out in front of coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen.

Tom Luginbill of Scout.com had this to say about Brosius:

"If Saturday was any indication of the caliber of quarterback in the 2010 class, it could be a special group. Tyler Brosius (Tuscola, N.C.) has great size, a thick build and really looked the part of a pocket passer with good arm strength and solid mechanics."

Brosius also had the opportunity to stop off in Columbia to show what he can do to the Ol' Ball Coach himself, Steve Spurrier. Add to this the fact that former Tuscola quarterback Jonathan Crompton is the starter at Tennessee and you can imagine the level of interest that is already being generated among the powers of the SEC.
Tyler Brosius

Most recently, Brosius put on a clinic of his own when the Mountaineers hosted West Forsyth in a 7-on-7 scrimmage in July. Brosius surgically dissected and demoralized the West Forsyth pass defense for nine touchdown passes — and no interceptions. Those nine scoring strikes came from a variety of passes. Four were deep bombs, three were to wide open receivers and two TDs were difficult throws. Seniors Brody Medford and Dakota Brown caught three touchdowns apiece, sophomore Austin Chambers hauled in two and senior Sage Frady one.

Needless to say, the Mountaineers will be looking to conduct another Air Raid this Friday night at the Bash.

Border Bash II: Fulton ranked #1 in Tennessee Class 3A for 2008

The Fulton Falcons have received the No. 1 ranking in the 2008 Murphy Fair Class 3A pre-season football poll. The Falcons secured 10 first place votes and appeared on more ballots than any other team in 3A. The Red Tornadoes and Falcons will face each other this Friday in Waynesville at Border Bash II.

The Murphy Fair poll is a coaches poll and is Tennessee's only published ranking of high school teams before the start of the season. Teams are ranked by total number of top-10 votes by coaches throughout the state. First-place votes, however, are only counted from coaches of other Class 3A schools. Even though defending state champ David Lipscomb received more first-place votes, Fulton received more top-ten votes.

First-place votes are in parentheses. Note that three of the top four teams are from the same region.

1. Fulton (10)
Region 2
2007 Record: 12-3

2. David Lipscomb (16)
Region 5
2007 Record: 14-1

3. Knoxville Catholic (3)
Region 2
2007 Record: 11-1

4. Austin East
Region 2
2007 Record: 9-4

5. White House
Region 4
2007 Record: 9-4

6. Pearl-Cohn
Region 4
2007 Record: 11-3

7. Dyersburg (1)
Region 7
2007 Record: 10-2

8. Mitchell
Region 8
2007 Record: 10-4

9. Crockett Co.
Region 7
2007 Record: 4-6

10. Giles Co.
Region 5
2007 Record: 8-3

Border Bash II: Video highlights of Fulton's 2007 season

PART 1: THE BEGINNING



PART 2: SEASON HIGHLIGHTS



PART 3: SEASON HIGHLIGHTS



PART 4: PLAYOFFS



PART 5: The Championship Game

HHS Alumni Update #3: AUSTIN JOHNSON

Just a brief update on Austin as he continues with pre-season practice in Knoxville. There is no question that graduating from HHS early and getting to Knoxville for the spring semester has paid off for the Bruiser. Going into spring practice Austin was listed as a 4th-string linebacker. When it was over, however, he was the 2nd-string fullback. Austin also received a mention in Lindy's preview of the Volunteers.

"Freshman linebacker Austin Johnson was moved to fullback and made an immediate impact."

Under new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson the fullback is basically an H-back in that he will be used a great deal as a receiver as well as a blocker. Hickory fans and opponents know that Austin has a great set of hands. So although he is a fullback most of his touches will be receptions rather than carries. Once he is "in space" with the football he is hard to bring down. He is also an outstanding blocker.

Austin is one of several Volunteers who hail from North Carolina. These include Tennessee's new starting quarterback, Jonathan Crompton of Waynesville. One of Crompton's prime targets will be senior wide receiver Josh Briscoe from Lawndale. And joining Crompton in the backfield will be backup tailback Monterio Hardesty of New Bern.

If Austin maintains his place on the depth chart then he should make the traveling squad. This means that his first-ever college football game will be played in the Rose Bowl against the UCLA Bruins. That's exciting stuff for a guy who opened last season at home against the Statesville Greyhounds!

Two-a-days begin today

Like the rest of the state's high school football teams the Red Tornadoes were in full pads on Friday for the first day of "contact" drills (aka HITTING!). For those who aren't familiar with the process, a certain number of practices must be concluded before teams are allowed to go full contact. Friday was the day and the Tornadoes took full advantage of it. As is customary the first day of hitting brought out several spectators who were eager to see what this year's team is made of. They did not leave disappointed! The hitting was hard and we all found it very good.

The Tornadoes conducted another full practice on Saturday morning that included a mini-scrimmage between the varsity offense and defense. This portion of practice was filmed as part of the ongoing evaluation process as Week 2 of the pre-season begins. Today the varsity had a light practice in the morning (9:00) and will return to the field at the usual time (6:00) for evening practice. This schedule will continue through most of the week. The week will culminate with a trip to Tuscola High School in Waynesville for Border Bash II.

New defensive coordinator Wayne Hicks is satisfied with the progress made by the players in adjusting to his preferred schemes, which are different from what his predecessor ran in 2006 and 2007. How quickly they get ahead of the learning curve will dictate how well the defense performs in the early part of the season. Fortunately, as stated before, the defense has several returning starters and their experience certainly willl help with the learning process.

I want to make special mention of junior Buddy Withers who has found a spot on the starting unit at linebacker. Buddy did not play football last season but has come on strong in the off-season and now in the pre-season and should definitely give the defense an extra burst of speed, which will be needed to deal with the offenses that Hickory will face in the CVAC. Another couple of juniors, Cole Smithey and Drew Siciliano, have also made great strides on the defensive side of the ball. Once again Hickory should be very stout against the run.

No more boring Fridays!

It just occurred to me that my Friday nights are now officially booked from now until (hopefully) December. For months the question has been "Damn, how many more Fridays must I endure before it's football time in Hickory again? But it slipped my mind Friday night that it was the last time for a long time that I won't have Hickory High football to enjoy. In five days the Tornadoes hit the road to Waynesville for the Border Bash. The following Friday Hickory's "Hardest Hits" tour makes a stop in Boiling Springs for the Cleveland County Jamboree. After that there will be a Tornado warning in effect for the Statesville area. Awesome!

This pre-season is unlike any other in Hickory High's long history. For the first time the Red Tornadoes will be involved in not one but two "event scimmages" which is my terminology for showcase jamborees such as the Cleveland County Jamboree and the Border Bash. In years past Hickory would have a couple of casual scrimmages against local teams and a joint practice with Freedom that involved some scrimmage action. Hardly anybody but the players, coaches and family members even paid attention.

Not quite ten years ago Hickory got involved with the Cleveland County Jamboree and has been playing in it ever since. I think it's a great thing and very valuable to the growth of the kids as football players and the program as a whole. When most teams around the state are having their season openers the Red Tornadoes are honing their skills in a 2-quarter game situation against one of the best teams in the state. Lately Hickory has been paired with Crest. Before that it was Shelby. Going up against the Cleveland County schools is always great preparation for Hickory's season opener against Statesville.

Now with the addition of the Border Bash to Hickory pre-season schedule time is fleeting because while the outcome has no official bearing on the 2008 season it is a contest that Hickory would love to win. So suddenly it's like the season is already upon us after only one week of practice. But that's what makes it exciting!

Deconstructing the 3A Baker's Dozen

I've just got one question for the coaches of North Carolina: Where's the love people?

Let me just state for the record that yes, I know that pre-season polls are basically meaningless in terms of predicting which teams will walk off the field as state champions in December. Everything will be won or lost on the field, week in and week out. But that doesn't mean that polls are useless. In my opinion polls do have two primary functions. They are conversation starters. Who can resist joining the debate about who belongs in the rankings but isn't and who is in the rankings that shouldn't be. The other function is to give some respect to the teams who have made a name for themselves in past seasons. A pre-season poll is really all about what has happened before - not what will happen in the future.

With this in mind I'd like to talk about the fact that despite a 13-1 record and a conference championship in 2007 the Red Tornadoes were left out of NCPreps.com's pre-season Baker's Dozen ranking. It's especially curious when you consider that Hickory has more returning starters than some of the teams who had lesser records in 2007. So, the teams that I'm questioning did not do as well as the Red Tornadoes nor do they have as many starters returning. So what's the deal?

The first thing you have to remember about the pre-season Baker's Dozen is that it is the only time when the rankings are not based on a "power" formula. The real Baker's Dozen is the product of a remarkably accurate power-ranking system devised and scrupulously guarded by Arnold Solomon, the creator of NCPreps. Those rankings won't come out until the season is underway. The pre-season Dozen, however, is a coaches poll that is derived from responses to information-gathering questionaires that go out each year to all of the state's coaches. So maybe it's asking too much for coaches in Manteo and Whalebone Junction to keep Hickory in mind when from their point of view Raleigh is considered "way out west."

It's more interesting to examine the teams that did make the Dozen, some of whom might surprise the average fan. So now I will take a quick look at each of the teams in the 3A Baker's Dozen.

Rocky Mount is an old cotton and tobacco center located in eastern North Carolina. The town derives its name from the rocky mound located at the falls of the Tar River. It is the home of the top-ranked Rocky Mount Gryphons. I have no problem with the Gryphons being ranked #1. The champions of the New 6 Conference, the Gryphons rolled to a 14-0 record last season before falling to the eventual 3A champion, Western Alamance. The Gryphons return 16 starters from that squad and the consensus around the state is that this should be Rocky Mount's year.

To accomplish their goal of winning a state title the Gryphons will have to find a way to get past the 2007 Class 3A champ, #2-ranked Western Alamance. The Warriors have won four consecutive East Region titles and finally finished the drill by crushing North Gaston in the 2007 finals. The three previous trips to the championship game had all ended in frustration for the Warriors. Western lost a ton of talent off last year's juggernaut but head coach Hal Capps is one of the best in the state in any classification and nobody runs the spread offense like the Warriors. Most importantly, nobody has a quarterback as good as senior superstar Donald Britt. The 2008 East Region final could easily be a rematch between Rocky Mount and Western Alamance.

Coming in at #3 are the Cougars of Charlotte Catholic. The Cougars have won four consecutive West Region titles and a couple of state titles (2004 and 2005). The amazing thing about Catholic's recent run of success is that in 2004 the Cougars won the 2AA state title and then, the very next year, moved up in classification and still wound up winning the 3AA title. Both of those championship squads finished with 16-0 records. Like Western Alamance (the team that Catholic defeated for the title in 2005) the Cougars lost several key players to graduation but do boast a bluechipper in tight end Tucker Windle. More importantly Catholic has the benefit of head coach Jim Oddo's decades of experience to build on. There are two excellent head coaches in the Queen City. Tommy Knotts of Independence is one and Jim Oddo is the other. As long as Oddo's machine is cranking properly the Cougars will always be standing in the way of other teams' state title hopes. Just ask Kannapolis. The Wonders have been eliminated three years in a row by the Cougars. It remains to be seen if Hickory will get a shot at redemption against Catholic this season.

The #4 team in the poll is Dudley, the team that defeated Catholic in the 3AA finals last season. The remarkable thing about the Panthers is that although they won the 3AA state title they finished the regular season third in their conference. That's because they play in the dreaded Triad Conference, home of Western Alamance and also Northeast Guilford (more about them later). You have to love high school football when a team can be the best in the state...yet not even second-best in its own conference. Playing in such a tough conference helps the Panthers in a power poll but it can also put some checkmarks in the loss column. In the end, however, it might not make a difference. The Panthers proved that records can be deceiving.

The Red Raiders of South Point come in at #5 in the poll. It's not often you see the wishbone anymore but the Raiders think the "redbone" (their word for it) is great and they're sticking with it. It certainly served them well in 2003 when they ran wild on the rest of the competition enroute to the 3A state title. The defending champ of the Big South Conference, South Point has eight starters back on offense (13 starters in all) and is making noises reminiscent of the 2003 pre-season. It's difficult for teams who aren't familiar with triple-option football to prepare for it in a week, so that will almost always work to South Point's advantage. If their defense comes together effectively then the Red Raiders could definitely make a run for the title. But first they'll have to make a run for the border in the season opener when they cross the line to tangle with the Clover Blue Eagles. Clover is the defending Class 4A Div. II champions of South Carolina. I'll go ahead and dub it the Garnet & Gold Report's Carolinas game of the week. How does that sound?

I have no problem with the top five teams in the poll. They have all proven themselves in the past and should be very strong in '08. But after South Point things become problematic.

Hertford Co. is ranked #6. Like Hickory the Hertford Bears play in a mixed 3A/2A conference. But unlike the Tornadoes, the Bears only tied for second place in the Northeastern Coastal Conference with Currituck Co. The conference champion was Bertie Co. Yes, Hertford did slap a hurtin' on Parkland and Southern Durham to start the 2007 season but got crushed by Rocky Mount and Bertie Co. as well as getting knocked off by a sub-.500 Pasquotank squad. Hertford was eliminated in the second round of the 3A playoffs by Western Alamance. Yes, head coach Diego Hasty does welcome back 17 starters from last year's 9-4 team but I really don't think they belong in the top six in the state. They can prove me wrong by winning on the road at Southern Durham, Rocky Mount, Currituck and Bertie. Good luck with that.

Winston-Salem is represented in the 3A polls by the Carver Yellow Jackets. In 2007 Jackets built a 12-game winning streak between a season-opening loss to Dudley and a playoff defeat at the hands of the Asheville Cougars. Carver reps the Piedmont Triad Conference and was the only team to beat fellow conference member Glenn during the regular season. Coach Brent David's Jackets run the Wing-T and do it effectively. They return eight starters from last year's offense and five more on the defensive side of the ball. They should be primed to make a deep run in the 3A playoffs one last time before shifting down to Class 2A in 2009. The Piedmont Triad Conference has been a slaughterhouse in previous seasons but 2007 was a different story. Carver and Glenn were the only teams in the league with winning records. Parkland and T.W. Andrews will have to get much better if they are to help Carver's power ranking.

At #8 is Kannapolis, aka Wonderland. The Wonders boast one of the state's top running backs in Artrele Louis and a ton of tradition. Louis is one of 12 starters returning for head coach Ron Massey and the Wonders are expected to battle the Anson Co. Bearcats for the South Piedmont Conference championship, which they shared last season. The schedule is not particularly helpful to the K-Town squad this season as the Wonders must play at Mooresville, Anson Co. and Concord. But when all is said and done the real question is this: Can they get over the major hump that Catholic represents in the playoffs? I get the feeling that Round 4 of that scuffle is on tap in 2008. It's been a decade since the incomparable Nick Maddox led the Wonders to a state title. The folks in Kannapolis think that it's been too long. We'll just have to see about that.

Northeast Guilford comes in at #9 and the Rams from McLeansville are the third team from the Triad Conference to make the Dozen. Northeast defeated Dudley in the regular season but fell in a 2nd-round playoff rematch with the Panthers. The victory over Dudley was the highlight of Northeast's season, which ended with a 10-3 record. This season they'll have six returning starters to crank up the ol' "wingbone" offense (their terminology) and another seven coming back on the defensive side. I don't think Northeast is really a top nine team but there is value in playing tough opponents when it comes to power rankings. Then again the Rams aren't known for great consistency and rarely put back-to-back great seasons together. Don't be surprised to see them finish with a 7-5 or 6-6 record.

At #10 are the Vikings of White Oak High School in Jacksonville. I don't agree with this one at all. The Vikings return only 11 starters from a 6-6 team. There are several strong teams from the Jacksonville area in different classifications (particularly Class 2A) but White Oak is definitely not a threat in football. Now if you want to talk soccer then...well, you know. So I really have no clue as to what this is all about. As a member of the Mideastern Conference the Vikings have to deal with the defending Class 4A champions from Wilmington's Hoggard High. I'll predict that White Oak makes the playoffs again but that's about it.

At #11 is Southwest Edgecombe. Now what is wrong with this pick you ask? Well, it is the second team from Edgecombe County to make the Dozen. The other one is Rocky Mount. I'm sorry but I don't believe that there is enough talent in the greater Pinetops metropolitan area or history to support Southwest Edgecombe's inclusion here. They were pretty good last year (3-2 in the conference and 8-3 overall) but they only have 10 returning starters. I seem to recall that there was similar hype swirling around them this time last year. I'm not seeing it, though. The Cougars finished 3rd in their conference and that's about where I think they'll finish this season, too. That does not make them a good candidate for a #11 ranking.

J.F. Webb is the #12 team and is a perfect example of the problem with these kinds of polls. Yes, the boys from Oxford did have a great season last year (11-4) before losing to Dudley in the 3AA East Region championship. But it was a special year for the Warriors, not a typical one. There is no way they will come close to duplicating their success from last year. They certainly don't have the kind of record that Hickory has built over the past 13 or so seasons. This one was strictly due to the memory of a good record in 2007 and a good showing against eventual champ Dudley in the playoffs. This will probably be the last time we see them ranked.

Last and perhaps least is the #13 team, Eastern Alamance. First of all, there are too many other great 3A teams around the state that could and should be ranked in the Dozen. The Eagles of Eastern Alamance have had a couple of strong years. In 2006 they were very good. But before that they were downright awful. Head coach John Kirby welcomes back only nine starters from last year's 9-3 team that finished in a three-way tie for the Mid State Conference crown along with J.F. Webb and South Granville. They will learn a lot about themselves immediately when they face cross-county rival Western Alamance in the first game of the season. There is already tremendous excitement building for the matchup. Look for standing room only at Western when the Eagles bring their version of the spread on August 22nd. Other major games on the schedule include rumbles with Cummings and Williams from Burlington (the latter on the road) in addition to visits by South Granville and J.F. Webb. Is #13 unlucky for the Eagles? Maybe...

Notably absent from the Dozen in addition to Hickory are Asheville, Glenn, T.C. Roberson, Anson Co. and West Rowan. I'm not sure why there is such a distinct East Region bias since it's the West Region of Class 3A that has tended to dominate the state over the years. Perhaps it's because for the first time in a long time the East teams swept the state championship games. Of course other than the championship games there is almost no head-to-head competition between teams from the East and West. North Carolina is one of the few states I can think of where there is literally no on-field interaction between teams from opposite ends of the state. Gas prices will ensure that this remains the case. I would love to see more games between the two regions but I'm not holding my breath.

Afterall, this is all just conversation.

Pre-Season Baker's Dozen by Classification

Class 4A
1. Independence
2. Hoggard
3. New Bern
4. Jack Britt
5. Butler
6. Rose
7. Mount Tabor
8. Richmond Co.
9. A.C. Reynolds
10. Garner
11. Millbrook
12. Southern Durham
13. Wake Forest-Rolesville

Class 3A
1. Rocky Mount
2. Western Alamance
3. Catholic
4. Dudley
5. South Point
6. Hertford Co.
7. Carver
8. Kannapolis
9. Northeast Guilford
10. White Oak
11. Southwest Edgecombe
12. J.F. Webb
13. Eastern Alamance

Class 2A
1. Shelby
2. Reidsville
3. Cummings
4. Northside
5. South Columbus
6. Southwest Onslow
7. Bunn
8. Southern Vance
9. Clinton
10. Lincolnton
11. Hibriten
12. Pisgah
13. Wilkes Central

Class 1A
1. James Kenan
2. Thomasville
3. West Montgomery
4. Albemarle
5. Mount Airy
6. Louisburg
7. Plymouth
8. Wallace-Rose Hill
9. Williamston
10. Murphy
11. Hendersonville
12. Jordan-Matthews
13. South Stanly

Back for more!

Hickory returns five defensive players who were selected first-team All-CVAC in 2007. You will be hearing their names even more this year. And here they are...

All about the skill positions

After watching another couple of practices I just can't help but be excited about the talent and depth at the all skill positions.

Everybody knows about the returning starters, quarterback Kevin Shelton and split end Trevin Parks. As a passer, Shelton's final stats in 2007 are second only to Tim Swanson's in 1998 for underclassmen. As I've stated before I believe that he could easily eclipse the 2,000-yard mark this season if given a chance. That would be something no Tornado quarterback has ever accomplished in the traditional run-oriented sets that Hickory uses. Shelton has the size and arm strength to play on the next level.

Parks is a returning All-CVAC performer at both split end and cornerback. The rockstar of the basketball team (he's the point guard for those unfamiliar with Tornado basketball), Parks is a savvy player who was the homerun threat for Hickory last season. His running mate, senior David Dula, is also an All-CVAC cornerback who functions as the 3rd-team quarterback and all-around utility player. He can be effective as a thrower, runner or receiver. Dula will always be a hero in my book simply for the game-winning touchdown bomb he threw in 2006 to beat the Hibriten JV up in Lenoir. It was a thing of beauty. Parks and Dula are without a doubt two of the team's fastest players. And they are good communicators.

Other returning lettermen among the receivers are seniors Step Banner, Reggie Robinson and Brad Ansley. Jaquan Wilson, a junior, adds quality depth at split end. D.J. Holloway, also a junior, should dominate at tight end, combining excellent size with good hands.

The 2nd-team quarterback is talented junior Tyler Barnette, who in 2007 joined the small but growing fraternity of Tornado JV quarterbacks who have led their squads to 10-0 records in recent years. The other members of the club are Chris Rogers (2001), Patrick Shelton (2003), Michael Cook (2004), Jordan Wilson (2005) and Kevin Shelton (2006). Barnette, who is also a top pitcher for Coach David Craft's Diamond Tornadoes, is a great athlete and a tough competitor. He is so tough that a collarbone injury early in the pre-season last year barely slowed him down. He missed only one game.

While he waits his turn to get under center Barnette will probably be a starter at outside linebacker. This is reminiscent of Chris Rogers who started at strong safety his junior year while backing up Cole Kenworthy at quarterback in 2002. Rogers, who went on to play at Furman, started at quarterback for Hickory in 2003 and led the Tornadoes to a 10-3 record.

Yet another key member of the skills team is senior Mikey Shook who can simply and accurately be described as a football player. An All-CVAC selection last year at safety he will see extended duty on both sides of the ball this season. The player who saved the day with his interception against Bandys in overtime last season sucks up whatever footballs are thrown in his vicinity - whether by his quarterback or theirs! He is one of those tough-as-nails kids who will fool you with his size and speed and then flat-out take care of business. Look for the offensive coaches to invent new ways to get him the ball.

I have also touted the abilities of senior fullback Rakim Barrett. In limited action (playing behind current Tennessee Volunteer Bruiser Johnson) all Barrett did was to rack up 504 yards and 5 touchdowns on 52 carries. That's a healthy 9.6 yards per carry, which led the CVAC. For the record, Darrien Burch led the conference in total yards with 2,208 on 237 carries for an average of 9.3.

As the off-season has progressed into the pre-season future stars have emerged. Junior Anthony Wilson was half of a potent 1-2 punch in the JV receiving corps last season and has performed well during the summer 7-on-7s. The other half of the tandem, junior Fearious Anderson, has a lot of upside to him. He is one of those tall receivers I mentioned last week. Wilson and Anderson are also good on the defensive side of the ball.

There have been a couple of pleasant surprises this pre-season, namely the emergence of junior Jason Hill as a strong candidate for tailback or wingback. According to the most recent 40 times turned in he may be the fastest of the fast for Hickory. He is also a good receiver. Another newcomer who was impressive in middle school but did not play football for Hickory last year is Montavious Sims, another of the tall, lanky receivers that I think are so important to an offense. It will be tough for CVAC cornerbacks to deal with the likes of Fearious Anderson and Montavious Sims simply because of their height and reach.

There is also a ton of talent at the tailback position. The first option is senior Kyshell Geter who has gotten better and better each year. He had many shining moments last season but perhaps the most memorable was his performance in the crucial game at Hibriten. With Burch suspended for the game Geter stepped in and rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries (7.3 yards per carry) to help lead the Tornadoes to an impressive 28-7 victory. For the season he accumulated 612 yards and three touchdowns on 95 carries (6.4 yards per carry).

Geter has also been playing well on defense and may spend more time on that side of the ball in 2008. How can the Red Tornadoes afford to move him to defense? Depth and talent. The JV had a quartet of talented running backs in 2007: Marcus Mayfield, Tyree Rhinehardt, T.J. Wimbush and Tyshon Chisholm. Look for at least one or two of them to make the varsity in 2008 and see extensive playing time. In the end we may see more of a "committee" approach to the tailback spot this season. There is no doubt that Hickory has the players to fill the hole left by Darrien Burch's graduation. It will be exciting to see how it all plays out.

And so it begins...

The Red Tornadoes opened their 2008 preseason with 99 players on the practice field promptly at 6:00 Friday evening. The anticipation level is particularly high this August due to a significant number of returning starters from last year's 13-1 campaign that brought Hickory its second CVAC title in the conference's brief history.

Although Friday's practice marked the official beginning of preseason preparation the Red Tornadoes have been typically active this summer. The numbers in the weight room have been strong and consistent. As I reported a few weeks ago the Red Tornadoes did well in the 7-on-7 competition at Lenoir-Rhyne. They also did well in a 7-on-7 against West Iredell on Wednesday. But now is the time for all the pieces of the puzzle to come together - and quickly.

One of the most important concepts that the coaching staff is constantly working to impress upon the players is the need for speed. Not just footspeed from the skill players but an overall accelerated movement: from station to station, to and from the sideline, into and out of the huddle and up to the line... The key is to keep the tempo lively. The defense will have to read and react and get to the ballcarrier with speed and violence. This is what preseason work is all about. Honing the fundamentals and making it automatic - and thereby faster.

There is also a need for the mostly new offensive line to gel into a cohesive, machine-like unit. Senior left tackle Dalton Abee is the only returning starter. And the forging of a new offensive line can't happen fast enough because in two weeks the Red Tornadoes will board their chartered buses and travel deep into the mountains to face Knoxville Fulton, the best 3A team in Tennessee. If you have watched the videos from the Falcons' 2006 state championship run then you have an idea what they're all about. More on the Border Bash II in days to come.

Early indications are that Abee will be joined on the line by fellow seniors Clay Johnson at right tackle, Triston Smith at right guard, Darrin Willis at center and junior Alex Martin at left guard. But of course the preseason is all about players winning and losing their starting positions so there could very well be some drastic changes in the coming two weeks. As Coach Worley is fond of saying, it all starts with the offensive line. Last year's group was ridiculously undersized but was extremely experienced, quick and dedicated. This year's line, whatever the final combination, will have much more size. The key will be how quickly they can overcome their relative inexperience. That's definitely something that will be closely monitored.

The other glaring hole in the Tornado starting lineup is at the inside linebacker positions. This time last year Bruiser Johnson was one of only two returning starters. Now the defense, overall, is in a much stronger position despite the graduation of Johnson and his fellow insider, Daniel Wakin. One of the players counted on to fill the void this season is no longer attending Hickory High while yet another contender for the inside is waiting to see if he will be academically eligible. Junior Drew Siciliano will most likely fill one slot. The other spot might go to a sophomore. That is still to be determined so I won't even speculate on here about it just yet. Stay tuned for more on that.

Let me take this opportunity to remind all readers that unless I specify that Coach Worley has informed me directly about an issue you should understand that these are simply my observations from the sideline. There will never be a need to go to Coach Worley and ask him if something that I've blogged is the "truth." I will let you know when Coach Worley has confirmed information for me. Otherwise it is merely my own educated but unofficial observations.

I will wait until next week to discuss other aspects of the offense and defense. I will mention, however, that the offense if blessed with probably the largest number of quality receivers Hickory has ever had. During the championship years of the 1990s Hickory utilized several talented and tall receivers: Ty Hunt and Jovan Hoover, Tyrek Holmes and Menyel Flowers, Jeremy Sherrill, Keith Connor and Lance Johnson. Later there was Roddy Long, Will Baker and Brent Johnson. The 2008 Red Tornadoes once again have multiple tall receivers who will present match-up problems for opposing secondaries. The new tall Tornadoes include underclassmen Fearious Anderson and Montavious Sims. The tight ends also have good height.

But not all of Hickory's best receivers over the past 12 years or so have been tall. Johnnie Dillingham, for instance, was a mighty mite who sucked up any ball that was remotely in his area. Hickory's most experienced receivers are not necessarily very tall (senior Mikey Shook is a tweener, I'd say) but are fast and sure-handed. These include senior Trevin Parks and Step Banner along with junior Anthony Wilson. The bottomline here is that Hickory is loaded at wide receiver and wingback and has an experienced, strong-armed quarterback who can get them the ball. Everybody knows that Hickory can roll up big numbers on the ground. But if Hickory really commits to using the pass as a weapon rather than merely a defense-stretching diversion then fans will witness the kind of balanced attack that the opposition will be hard-pressed to contain, let alone stop. That's good stuff!

HHS Alumni Update #2: RASHAUD MUNGRO

Former Red Tornado star Rashaud Mungro (Class of '04) has been named the Spotlight Athlete of the Week by the official Eastern Kentucky athletics website. Mungro (6'5" 278) is a 5th-year senior for the Colonels and will be fighting for a starting position on the offensive line in pre-season practice after a couple of years as a backup. The Colonels swept the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007 with an 8-0 record before falling to Richmond in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Richmond was eventually ousted by Appalachian State.

Rashaud was asked five random questions including this one: "Five years from now, I will remember this from my EKU football experience..."

Rashaud answered this way: "Change is good. Most people get worried and doubtful when change happens, but I think that it always works out for the best."

One example of change for Rashaud and the Colonels was the loss of head coach Danny Hope in the off-season. Hope left to join the staff at Purdue as the offensive line coach. Current Purdue skipper Joe Tiller will retire after the 2008 season and has named Hope as his successor.

According to Rashaud's roster bio he had a solid off-season this past spring and his coaches expect big things from him in fall camp. Rashaud has the ability to compete for playing time at both guard and tackle in 2008.

Rashaud was a 2-time All-Conference player in high school and helped lead the Tornadoes to a 10-3 record in his senior season.

Tornado Warning!!

Tradition Never Graduates

We are just days away from the start of pre-season practice. On August 29th the Red Tornadoes will kickoff Hickory High's 86th football season with a trip to Statesville. The clash with the Greyhounds will be the 46th meeting between the two schools in one of North Carolina's oldest high school rivalries. The series dates back to 1924.

With this in mind I encourage everybody to check out the Tornado History page on TornadoPride.com because it has grown into an absorbing visual record of Hickory's long athletic history. Hickory alumnus Bob Duckworth, a longtime supporter of Red Tornado athletics, has done an outstanding job of gathering and scanning all the photographs you will see on the History page. And, of course, it is my pleasure to provide the forum with which to make these treasures accessible to all visitors to the site.

One of my original motivations for creating TornadoPride.com in 2002 was to make current Red Tornadoes aware of the long-standing tradition to which they contribute when they put on the garnet and gold colors of Hickory High. I felt at the time that not enough was being done to "bring to life" Hickory High's sports tradition and make it real for the players and fans. It's an ongoing process which, fortunately, is my great hobby and passion.

On the Tornado History page you will also see some photographs from the days of Ridgeview High School, which was the traditional African-American high school in Hickory prior to integration. Gathering additional information and pictorial mementos from Ridgeview's impressive sports history is also an ongoing process to which I look forward as time goes by. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Ridgeview's Panthers now proudly wear the colors of Hickory High but they are also heirs to a tradition that produced the likes of Coach Samuel W. Davis, Sr.

Coach Davis was the longtime Panther football and basketball coach as well as Ridgeview's athletic director. He did it all for many years. His Panther football teams in the 1950s and 1960s still hold the North Carolina records for consecutive regular-season wins (74, from 1957-1965) and consecutive shutouts (14, from 1964-1965). His 1964 Panthers had the ultimate perfect season, compiling a 12-0 record and outscoring the opposition by 446-0. That's right...unbeaten and unscored upon. Did Zero Bars exist back then?

Just two years later the Red Tornadoes and Panthers were finally united into one single football juggernaut that also went 12-0 and won a state championship. I'd love to see a movie called Remember the Tornadoes of 1966!

Learning more about Hickory High's football traditions will introduce you to men like Carl "Willie" Wakefield.

Wakefield was once described as a hustler of the "rock 'em, sock 'em" type and was a terrific lineman for the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears back in the late 1940s. He was a standout on the undefeated Red Tornado squad of 1943 that won the Western Conference championship.


After his high school playing days were over Wakefield's life took a fascinating but not unfamiliar turn for kids of his generation. The world was at war and like so many others Wakefield joined the military. He signed up with the Air Corps, ending up in Okinawa. He survived the fighting and at war's end a service football league was organized on the island. Wakefield was a key member of a team known as the "Okinawa Flyboys." The Flyboys eventually won the South Pacific Air Force championship.

Wakefield returned to Hickory and entered Lenoir-Rhyne in 1947 on the GI Bill and, of course, continued to play football. He earned a letter his first season as a 2nd-string guard. The 1st-stringer ahead of him was a senior and fellow war veteran by the name of Frank Barger. Wakefield became a starter himself on Clarence Stasavich's 1948 and 1949 Bear teams.

This is just a small sample of Hickory's football tradition. Like they say, it never graduates.

It's that time of year again...

Kevin Shelton video highlights

As we look forward to the start of pre-season practice on Friday here are some pleasant moments from last season. In his first year as a varsity starter Shelton compiled some very healthy numbers: 90-166-8 (54.2%) for 1,317 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 101.3 yards-per-game average help provide crucial offensive balance that helped lead the Tornadoes to a 13-1 record in 2007 and another CVAC title.

Keep an eye open for "the bomb" that Kevin served up to Trevin Parks against Glenn in the second round...

Border Bash II: Video Highlights of Fulton's 2006 season

Here are the highlights of Fulton's 2006 run to the Tennessee Class 3A state championship. As mentioned previously, the 2006 title was Fulton's third in four years.

PART 1: THE BEGINNING
The first minute will be familiar as it is basically the same as the intro video that I have posted previously. But keep watching because the last 8 minutes are very interesting. The first game shown is against Fulton's crosstown rival, Austin-East High. That was the team that played Independence back in 2001 (Chris Leak's junior year) and lost 77-13.




PART 2: SEASON HIGHLIGHTS




PART 3: SEASON HIGHLIGHTS




PART 4: PLAYOFFS




PART 5: THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

HHS Alumni Update #1: RYAN SUCCOP

From the 2008 University of South Carolina spring media guide...

"The Gamecocks have one of the nation's top returning placekickers in senior Ryan Succop. Succop, who has been blessed with a strong leg, was an honorable mention All-SEC pick in 2007 after earning second team honors in 2006. A candidate for the Lou Groza Award, which recognizes the nation's top placekicker, Succop is 16-for-17 in his career from inside 40 yards and owns two field goals of 50-plus yards. His career best was a 55-yarder against Vanderbilt in 2006. That is also the second-longest in school history. Succop has handled the punting chores in addition to the placekicking duties for the past two seasons and could do both again this season. Succop's average was down a bit last fall to 41.6 yards per punt after averaging 43.7 yards in 2006, but he also logged twice as many punts (56) in 2007 as he did in '06 (29)."

This will be Ryan's third season as the kicking specialist for the Gamecocks. After handling mainly kick-offs in his freshman year he won the starting job as both placekicker and punter for South Carolina during pre-season practice in 2006. His first game that season, against Mississippi State, was a memorable after he nailed three field goals, averaged nearly 49 yards per punt, and even showed his athleticism when he avoided a potential blocked punt by rushing for 16 yards and a crucial 1st down.

Later in the season he came agonizingly close to personally derailing Florida's national championship run in 2006 when Jarvis Moss blocked his 48-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds to preserve a 17-16 Gator victory in Gainesville. Florida had already lost once and a second loss, especially an upset at home, would have ended any chance of reaching the BCS championship game. Earlier in the contest Ryan had nailed a 55-yard field goal which might also have provided the winning margin for the Gamecocks but it was waved off due to a procedure penalty against South Carolina.

Moss was able to block the final kick after defensive tackles Ray McDonald and Steve Harris pushed the South Carolina line back, allowing Moss to see the ball as it was being kicked.

“Steve and Ray did all the work, and I just jumped my highest,” Moss said. “That was the biggest play of my career.”

Ryan scored 85 points for the Gamecocks in 2006, which made him the team's scoring leader. The 85 points was also the third-highest single-season total in school history.

Ryan was a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2006 and is a strong candidate for that award again this season. He has also been named to Lindy's 2008 first team pre-season All-SEC team. He currently projects as a 6th-round NFL draft choice but that certainly could go higher with another great season.

Ryan graduated from Hickory High in 2005. During his four years as Hickory's varsity kicking specialist Succop played in games against fellow SEC stars such as Florida's starting middle linebacker, Brandon Spikes (Crest '05) and Tennessee's starting wide receiver Josh Briscoe (Burns '05) as well as Clemson starting cornerback Crezdon Butler (Asheville '06).

Border Bash II: Falcons have size to spare!

To say that the Fulton Falcons are blessed with both speed and size would be putting is mildly. I have already touched briefly on the great tradition of running backs at Fulton, particularly current Tennessee Volunteer Dennis Rogan. Now I want to take a quick glance at the Fulton line.

When the Falcons won the Tennessee Class 3A state championship in 2006, their roster included these senior linemen:

Chase Kennedy (6'3" 221)
Mark Brown (6'3" 239)
Raymond Johnson (6'1" 276)
Ryan Gould (6'1" 223)
Sean Reilly (6'6" 308)
James Higgins (6'3" 298)
Rodney Sims (6'2" 275)
Charles Wiley-Gatewood (6'6" 311)
Antonio Hamilton (6'1" 294)

These were just some of the roadgraders paving the way for Dennis Rogan and Terrence Cobb. But surely this was a uniquely oversized class of linemen that couldn't possibly be replaced in a year's time...right?

In a way, yes. The 2007 Falcons only listed two senior linemen:

Gary Gamble (6'1" 237)
Ricky Hensley (6'2" 297)

The rest of the 2007 Falcon linemen on the roster were as follows:

Hakeem Gray (6'0" 209, 9th)
Adam Bowman (5'10" 218, 10th)
Tony Hendricks (5'10" 198, 10th)
Mychal Cason (6'1" 229, 9th)
Aaron Miller (5'10" 212, 9th)
Jarius Johnson (6'2" 263, 10th)
Christian Clark (6'0" 236, 10th)
Cardeem Brown (5'11" 245, 10th)
Michael Miller (5'11" 248, 11th)
Caleb Garrett (5'10" 215, 10th)
Jake Reilly (5'10" 235, 10th)
T.J. Miller (5'11" 206, 9th)
Kadeem Blair (6'3" 348, 11th)
Vincent Johnson (6'7" 251, 11th)
Jarvis Drew (5'11" 311, 10th)
Matthew Blasco (6'0" 276, 11th)
Jordan Phillips (6'3" 320, 11th)

The hot topic of discussion this time last year for the Falcons and their fans was the remarkable inexperience of the linemen. Well, one year and another trip to the state championship game later, the Falcons won't have that problem to worry about.

Of course size isn't everything. The biggest team Hickory faced all year in terms of raw size was undoubtedly Hunter Huss. But that didn't prevent the Red Tornadoes from administering a stunning 63-0 smackdown on the Huskies. But rest assured that Fulton is nothing like Huss - the Falcons won't lay down after getting smacked in the mouth. You do not want to miss this, folks!

Day 2 of Lenoir-Rhyne 7-on-7 rained out

Severe thunderstorms that rolled through the area yesterday afternoon forced the cancellation of the second and final evening of competition at Lenoir-Rhyne. This is certainly a shame since the Red Tornadoes were looking as sharp as any team in the competition. We are now just three weeks away from the official start of pre-season practice on August 1st. Football season can't get here fast enough, brothers and sisters. Stay tuned!

Day 1 at the Lenoir-Rhyne 7-on-7 competition

The Red Tornadoes performed very well yesterday in the first day of the 7-on-7s, racking up wins over Ashbrook and Burns. Play will continue this evening at 6:00.

Returning starter Kevin Shelton looked sharp. He passed for a total of six touchdowns in the two games and showed nice touch on some difficult throws.

Kevin Shelton

The receivers, particularly senior Michael Shook and junior Anthony Wilson, also impressed. The secondary, missing a couple of returning starters, showed definite signs being an effective and deep unit this season.

In the first contest, Shelton's two touchdown passes were enough to beat the Ashbrook Green Wave, 13-7, thanks to three timely interceptions by the Tornado secondary. Michael Shook picked off a couple of Ashbrook passes. Marcus Sims got his hand on another Ashbrook ball and tipped it into the hands of fellow junior Tyler Barnette.

After sitting out the next contest, Hickory took the field again, this time to play an old rival, the Burns Bulldogs. The Red Tornadoes struck quickly as Shelton connected with Shook for an impressive touchdown. Anthony Wilson caught the extra point and Hickory went up 7-0. Cole Smithey, a junior, intercepted a Bulldog pass to end one Burns threat. But the Bulldogs did eventually find the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

Both sides played good defense and Burns did intercept Hickory three times. But Hickory forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs three times.

When the game was still tied after the regulation 20 minutes, the teams each were given four plays to score from the 10-yard line. Burns struck first and took a 14-7 lead. Anthony Wilson then made a leaping catch for Hickory's touchdown and junior tight end D.J. Holloway caught the conversion pass to make the score 14-14.

In the second overtime round, Burns needed all four plays to get the needed touchdown but they were successful and re-took the lead at 21-14. Again it was Shelton hooking up with Wilson for a touchdown. There was some mild controversy on the conversion attempt as Shook literally went horizontal and stretched to catch Shelton's pass successfully. Burns players insisted that Shelton had not got the pass off in time but this claim was denied by Lenoir-Rhyne coach who was supervising the game. So it was 21-21 after the overtime periods. This resulted in a "Texas Shootout" scenario to break the tie.

Now it was each team getting one shot at the end until a winner was determined. After neither team scored initially in the shootout, Shelton finally found Wilson in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Final score: 27-21.

Additional photographs can be seen in the Albums page of TornadoPride.com.

The seeds of Tornado greatness were planted in the 1940s

Another season of Red Tornado football is almost upon us and that is guaranteed to put smiles on the faces of Hickory High fans everywhere. This is a period of great anticipation and high expectations, especially for the seniors, who will wear the garnet and gold for the last time this season.

Former Red Tornado star Bob Reed knows the feeling. He played his final game as a Tornado back in 1947, but remembers it all as if it happened only last year. For former players like Reed, this time of year is also one for reflecting on the past. Like so many others, he has experienced Red Tornado football as a player, as a player’s father, and as a fan. Two of his sons, Dana and Kyle, played for legendary Tornado head coach Frank Barger in the 1970s.

"It was different when I was growing up," said Reed, "there was no organized football for kids before they reached the eighth grade. We just played sandlot ball all the time. We were just a bunch of country boys playing the game."

When Bob Reed went out for the Hickory varsity squad in the fall of 1944 the world was literally turned upside down due to the world war still raging in Europe and the Pacific. The Red Tornadoes had a new head coach that season, Doc Kanupp, who replaced Bill Scarborough, who had joined the war effort. Reed and his classmates could not know at the time that Kanupp would be just one of three different head coaches to guide the team in the next four years.

Personnel turnover like that has always been rare at Hickory High and the situation definitely had an impact on the fortunes of the team. The Red Tornadoes went from an 8-0-1 championship campaign in 1943 to a dismal three-year run of bad luck and losing records, including back-to-back losses to archrival Newton-Conover. After two years of Kanupp, the team was taken over by the basketball coach, Lloyd Coley, whose 1946 squad stumbled to a 3-6-1 record.

That’s when former Duke star Buddy Luper stepped in.

"Luper was very strict," Reed remembered. "The first thing he ever said to us was ‘I’m Coach. I’m not Buddy to you. I’m Coach Luper.’ And boy none of us ever called him Buddy. Luper didn’t run a lot of elaborate drills. We would just run and run and then run some more."

Luper and his assistant, Troy Washam, quickly whipped the 1947 Tornadoes into shape. But Luper and Washam also had plenty of talent on that squad. In addition to Reed, who was the starting fullback, the senior group included husky Lamar Dowda, a bruising lineman, along with top backfield men Paul "Cooter" Jones and Glenn Ray Yoder, better known as "Lefty." The starting lineup also included a ferocious sophomore center/linebacker by the name of Gene Frye.

Lamar Dowda

"Lamar was a big old boy," remembered Reed. "He made the varsity team as an eighth grader, which was perfectly within the rules back then. He was probably the toughest guy on the team. Right there with him, though, was Gene Frye. He was just mean. We used to get into fights all the time when we were younger. We were all a little afraid of him, actually. But he was a great player and we were happy that he was on our side."

Both Dowda and Frye would eventually be selected to play in the Shrine Bowl: Dowda in 1947 and Frye in 1949.

"Our first game in 1947 was against Forest City," said Reed. "That was the game when Cooter Jones got his leg broken returning a punt early in the game. His season was over just like that. Fred Lail came in for him. I scored the only touchdown and we beat them 6-0."

The second game of the season was against Statesville and Reed still winces at the memory of it. Over 3,000 fans were on hand at College Field to witness the contest between the two old rivals.

"I never will forget that game," said Reed. "Gene Smith played for Statesville. And I was on defense, playing right corner. I got crossed up and Smith went down the sideline behind me and caught the pass that put them ahead for good. Oh, I was sick about that."

The following week saw the Red Tornadoes battle conference rival Lenoir to a 6-6 tie. Fred Lail scored Hickory touchdown on an eight-yard run, helped along by the fine blocking of Lamar Dowda and Harold Deal. Dowda’s potential game-winning extra point attempt was wide to the right.

A 13-0 victory over Charlotte Tech in the season’s fourth contest marked the debut of Glenn Ray "Lefty" Yoder, who came off the bench in the second quarter of his first varsity game and rushed for 105 yards, including a sparkling 10-yard touchdown run. The Red Tornado victory set up a confrontation with the Newton-Conover Red Devils, who were looking for a third consecutive win over Hickory.

When asked how Hickory and Newton-Conover fans got along in those day, Reed just shook his head and chuckled.

The Tornadoes were especially keyed up for the contest and they literally exploded on the Red Devils immediately. Lefty Yoder returned the opening kickoff to the Hickory 26-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage he scooted around right end and broke loose on a 74-yard touchdown jaunt, with Reed, Dowda, and Bobby Shores providing an escort of blockers. That play set the tone for the game as Yoder ran wild, scoring two more touchdowns before it was over. Thanks to Yoder’s heroics and a brutal defense led by Dowda and Frye, Hickory rolled to a very satisfying 20-2 victory.

"Fred Lail got hurt," Reed recalled, "and Glenn Ray came in at tailback in the old single wing formation. We beat them 20-2 and put five of them in the hospital. They were laid out all over the field. Those guys were just not in shape."

The brutal loss at the hands of their archrivals was seared into the minds of Newton fans. It would take another 30 years before the Red Devils could once again claim victory in the bitter rivalry.

If the Red Devils were out of shape and unprepared to face the Red Tornadoes, the same could not be said of Hickory’s next opponent, undefeated Shelby. The Golden Lions, led by running back Billy Meggison, slipped past the Tornadoes, 13-0.

The following week Hickory was its own worst enemy, fumbling away an opportunity to defeat the Lincolnton Wolves on the road. The hometown Wolves won the hard-hitting contest by a score of 13-7. It was Bob Reed who scored Hickory’s lone touchdown.

Hickory closed out the 1947 season with victories over Marion and the NC School for the Deaf. The Marion Rippers came to Hickory and brought their usual brutal style of football with them, but the Red Tornadoes beat them at their own game, 13-7, in what came to be known as the "Mud Bowl."

"It rained three days and three nights before that game," remembered Reed. "It was the only game my mother ever saw me play in was that Marion game and I was covered in mud. She could hardly tell which one was me. I will never forget that game."

The season finale against N.C.S.D. was played up in Morganton and was another important game to the Hickory boys. It was usually no picnic playing the Bears of N.C.S.D. and Hickory had lost to the Bears in 1945 and 1946. But the 1947 game was a memorable one for Red Tornado players and fans alike. The team put it all together that day and rolled to a most satisfying 54-6 victory, the most lopsided Hickory victory in nearly 20 years. Joe Shook was the star of the day, racking up over 100 yards in pass receptions. Reed scored two touchdowns in his final high school game.

"That was a sweet victory," said Reed. "We had lost to them two years in a row and we wanted that game. It was a road game and for road trips one of the school janitors would drive the old bus that we had. We got a meal after the game on road trips. I don’t think we ever had a meal before the games like they do now. But I remember they gave us each 50 cents on trips. But you could get yourself a pretty good meal for 50 cents back then. You could get a hamburger and a drink with that, easily."

For his consistently excellent and dependable play throughout the season, Reed was honored to receive a new award, instituted by Coach Luper: the team’s Most Outstanding Player trophy.

"Well, I did pretty well that season," Reed recalled. "We had a play called the Reed Special. It’d be a very simple play now. I was the fullback in the single wing. I’d run up to the line and turn around, the halfback would hand it off to me and then I’d lateral the ball to someone coming around the end. We did well with that play.

"Also, I was fortunate to get through the season without any real injuries. I don’t know I managed that because back then you could hit a man pretty much however you wanted to. With no facemasks and little pads, people got hurt all the time.

"With all the talent we had on that team, I was very proud of winning that award. I’m still proud of it because that was a great bunch of guys that I played with then. And I still have that trophy.”

That is what it’s all about. A football game lasts 48 minutes on the scoreboard, but the memories last a lifetime.