Back on right track

Of all the things Hickory High head football coach John Worley liked on his postgame checklist, one stuck out the most on Friday night – the Red Tornadoes won.

Taking control of the line of scrimmage, Hickory nipped visiting Fred T. Foard 28-20 in a Northwestern 3A-4A game at Barger Stadium.

The Red Tornadoes overcame a sluggish start and 20 penalties, including 15 by the offense, to even their records at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

"Our offensive line started wearing their defense down," Worley said. "But we didn't manage the game like we should have.

"It wasn't pretty but it was a win."

And in the context of the week, it was an important one. On Monday night at Hibriten, the Panthers spanked the Red Tornadoes 42-6 in a league opener delayed by rain last Friday night.

Getting right back on the horse, senior quarterback Tyler Barnette said, was very important.

"I felt terrible," Barnette said of Monday night's loss. "I didn't know what to do."

Putting the ball in the hands of Casey Stinson and Shaquan Reid worked well, and the Red Tornadoes were able to sustain a late Foard rally to win for the 16th time in a 19-game series.

Stinson gained 167 yards on 12 carries and Reid had 15-104 as Hickory ran to a season-high 391 yards on offense (366 rushing yards).

Reid scored on runs of 9 and 52 yards for a 14-7 lead by halftime, then Stinson's 5-yard TD run with three minutes, six seconds left in the third quarter put Hickory up 20-7.

When T.J. Wimbush ran 6 yards for a TD and Barnette ran for a two-point conversion, the Red Tornadoes had a 21-point lead with 11:21 to play.

About 2 1/2 minutes later, Foard running back Quentin Owens (18 carries for 143 yards) bolted 12 yards for a TD.

With 1:25 to play, the Tigers (2-5, 0-2) scored on a 4-yard pass from quarterback Byron Fullenwider to Tyler Ruth, who a play earlier hauled in a 53-yarder from Fullenwider.

Hickory then grabbed the onsides kick at the 50 and had the ball for all but 10 of the final 85 seconds.
Even so, with Owens on the field, Worley said he just wanted the time to run out.

"I'm glad he is a senior," Worley said.

But Worley was more pleased that he got better second-half results after his chat with the Hickory linemen at the half.

"Our intensity got better in the second half," Worley said. "We were a little more physical. (And) any time you get 300-something yards rushing, you're doing something right."

Hickory rebounded from a slow start — its second possession, Barnette threw potential TD passes that didn't get caught — and 20 penalties hampered the Red Tornadoes, too.

"Those are mistakes you make in August," said Worley, whose team had six illegal procedure penalties. "That's what is frustrating. We've got to be a little more focused.

"(If we lose), we want a team to beat us not we beat ourselves."

The Tigers had one turnover, but were perhaps most hurt by a high snap on a punt attempt. Trailing 20-7, they were at the Foard 46 and ready to punt. By the time Jordan Thacker chased the ball down and was tackled, the Red Tornadoes were at the Tigers' 10.

Two plays later, Wimbush scored and Foard faced a three-TD deficit.

Foard dropped its third straight game since getting out of a score-a-thon at Bunker Hill with a 44-35 victory.

"The competition has gotten extremely stiff," Tigers head coach Ryan Gettys said of playing Newton-Conover, Alexander Central and Hickory in consecutive weeks. "We gotta get guys to step up."