Kickin' duel

In a game that included a 57-yard field goal by St. Stephens' Keith Cooper, Hickory High won on a kick of its own.

Patrick Smith's 19-yard field goal provided the go-ahead points with 13.4 seconds to play Friday and the Red Tornadoes defeated the Indians 21-17 on Hickory's homecoming night.

Hickory (5-4, 2-2 Northwestern 3A-4A) scored its last two points when Ryan Tyree tackled quarterback Tanner Miller for a safety on the last play of the game.

St. Stephens (3-7, 1-4) led 17-16 when the Red Tornadoes drove 66 yards in nine plays to the Indians' 2, from where they lined up for Smith's field goal try.

"Our kids stepped it up," Hickory head coach John Worley said. "I thought they fed off the defense. They went down and got into field goal range.

"We trust our kicker. We don't mind putting him in that situation."

Smith had missed an extra-point attempt, leaving St. Stephens ahead 17-16 after Fearious Anderson caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Barnette with 6:06 left in the game.

"After that I was a little mad," the Hickory kicker said. "The FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletics) guy helped me out on the sideline.

"I started kicking into the net, getting ready. I was just trying to relax."

Smith, who had put Hickory ahead 3-0 with 6:20 remaining in the first quarter, also drove all five of his kickoffs into the end zone.

Cooper's field goal, which cut the Red Tornadoes' lead to 10-3 with 13.8 seconds left in the first half, was four yards short of the state record of 61 set by Cline Ingle of Burns against Shelby in 2000.

Cooper was permitted a free kick, on which the ball was set on a tee, after Jacob Kerley made a fair catch of a Hickory punt.

"He had enough leg that, when he kicked it, it probably had another five yards to go," St. Stephens head coach Fred Whalen said.

In the non-kicking game, Hickory outgained St. Stephens 381-251.

"Our defense played great, all night long," Worley said. "Our defensive coaches did a great job of breaking down St. Stephens' offense – who has a good offense."

For the Hickory offense, sophomore Shaquan Reid rushed for 157 yards in 25 carries and caught a 23-yard pass from Barnette in the game-winning drive.

Barnette, who passed for 136 yards, threw to Anthony Wilson for a 27-yard touchdown, on fourth-and-3, to complete an 87-yard drive that increased Hickory's lead to 10-0 with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter.

The Red Tornadoes were ahead 10-3 when Keara Abernathy was crowned homecoming queen at halftime. Rain had fallen in the first half but stopped before the ceremony.

The Indians tied it 10-10 when Cooper kicked an extra point after Parkey Kersey caught a 3-yard scoring pass from Miller with 7:01 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was set up by Tyler Berg's 62-yard gain on a pass from Miller, after two laterals in the backfield.

St. Stephens took the lead when Dyson Littlejohn forced a fumble, which he picked up and carried 24 yards for a touchdown with 7:26 to go in the game.

Hickory then drove 80 yards, the first 48 on three carries by Reid, to get within 17-16.

The Red Tornadoes had advanced to the Indians' 3 before a fourth-down pass was incomplete with 9:53 left in the game.

For St. Stephens, Miller completed 12-of-26 passes for 215 yards. Kersey caught seven for 120 yards, 47 of them on a pass from the 3 after Hickory had been stopped there.

The Indians were stymied when Hickory's Buddy Withers stole a pass from a St. Stephens receiver in the end zone in the first quarter and when the Red Tornadoes' Tyree Rhinehardt recovered a fumble on his 10 in the third period.

St. Stephens, which lost at Fred T. Foard in the final minute on Oct. 10, has dropped its last three games by a total of 18 points.

"It's been a frustrating year," said Whalen, who complimented his players for their hard work. "I thought the defense played pretty good at times, but we gave them a couple big passes."