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The hunt's on

Alan Rogers

Alex Miller of Fred T. Foard is pursued by Dylan Hendrix during the Tigers' 21-20 win over previously unbeaten Hibriten.

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By GARY OLINGER

Record Sports Correspondent

Published: October 11, 2008

NEWTON - Fred T. Foard High nosed out Hibriten and remained in the race for the Catawba Valley Athletic 2A-3A Conference championship.

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The Tigers edged the previously-undefeated Panthers 21-20 in a game that was decided when Hibriten failed to make a two-point conversion in the final minute Friday night.

Foard and Hibriten, both 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the CVAC, are now tied for second place, behind unbeaten Newton-Conover, which will visit Hibriten next week.

The Tigers, who were led by Quintin Owens' 185 yards and three touchdowns in 21 carries, have bounced back since losing to Newton-Conover two weeks ago.

"We showed a lot of guts last week, Foard coach Ryan Gettys said, referring to their win at Hickory. "I think we stepped ahead of that."

Friday's game was tied 7-7 at the end of the third quarter and Foard broke a 14-all tie when Owens spurted 84 yards for a touchdown and Jordan Thacker kicked his third extra point with 4:13 left.

Hibriten then drove 65 yards and got within one point when Quin Smith, who finished with 122 yards on 23 carries, scored on a 6-yard run with 42.7 seconds to play.

The Panthers' conversion attempt went awry when Jamichael Walton, who completed 7-of-7 passes for 110 yards, fumbled the snap from center.

Hibriten coach Chuck Cannon was asked why he went for two instead of kicking an extra point that might have sent the game into overtime.

"I felt like we had a lot of momentum," he explained. "We had driven on them twice (in the fourth quarter).

"I didn't want them to run the kickoff back and have No. 8 (Owens) get loose again," Cannon continued.

"I really thought we had a good play called and didn't have a chance to run it."

The Panthers had scored their first touchdown when Walton lofted a 36-yard pass to Dylan Crump, finishing a 91-yard drive, with 4:54 remaining in the first half.

Foard then drove as far as the Hibriten 1 before Thomas Mabe tackled Owens for a loss, leaving the Tigers in a fourth-and-goal situation on the Panthers' 4. From there, Foard chose not to try a field goal and Smith sacked the Tigers' Landon Isenhour on the 17.

"We thought about kicking it, but the decision was we came to win," Gettys said.
The Tigers held control of the game during the third quarter, which included only three offensive plays – for one yard – by Hibriten.

"At halftime, we thought we could run the ball," Gettys said. "We thought we could power it and we did."

Foard drove 70 yards in 15 plays, two of them fourth-down conversions, and scored their first touchdown on a 13-yard sprint by Owens with 5:09 left in the third period.

The Tigers held a 14-7 lead after Owens slipped into the end zone from the 2 on a fourth-down play, which ended a 60-yard drive, with 10:58 to play in the game.

"He's got speed and he's got power," Gettys said of Owens, who has gained 405 yards in the last two weeks. "He loves the game of football and doesn't mind contact."

Hibriten – which, Cannon said, had lost three defensive players to injuries in the first quarter — responded with an 80-yard, 14-play drive and tied it 14-all after Walton scored on a 6-yard keeper with 4:40 to go.