HobbsDailyReport.com
ST. STEPHENS 22
HICKORY 16
HICKORY – Playing the type of game again that their head coach says they must to win, St. Stephens High’s Indians came away Friday night with another meaningful victory.
With running back Xavian King’s 61-yard scoring run in the final three minutes and his two-point conversion run the difference, the Indians turned back visiting archrival Hickory 22-16.
St. Stephens (5-6, 4-3) tied the Red Tornadoes (6-5, 4-3) and Freedom for third place in the Northwestern 3A-4A by winning.
“That way we play is the way I like to play,” St. Stephens head coach Wayne Hicks said in a postgame interview after the Indians beat the Red Tornadoes for only the sixth time in a 31-game series. “We’re tough and physical and that’s the way we have to play at St. Stephens.”
HICKS
King ran for more than 160 yards in the victory, the Indians’ fifth on-field win in the series (one win was by a later forfeit).
Hickory had an early 10-0 lead after a field goal by Harrison Boston and a 2-yard TD run by Izaak Milsaps.
The Indians were within 10-7 at the half after quarterback Justin Bullock threw a scoring pass to Nathaniel Vera.
St. Stephens went ahead 14-7 when Teavius Henry took a kickoff 89 yards to the end zone and Bryce DeSantis kicked the extra point.
About five minutes later, the Red Tornadoes went ahead 20-14 after a 15-yard scoring run by Quinatvius Saddler.
After King broke his long scoring run, the Indians hung on.
“We just don’t give up,” Hicks said in the radio interview of his team.
“Just don’t mess it up,” Hicks said of his though process in the game-winning possession. “It finally happened for us. He popped it through there. They never tackled him and he was off to the races.”
Bullock threw for 75 yards for St. Stephens and Blake Baker contributed more than 100 yards rushing in an offense that gained more than 300 yards.
Baker, who had knee surgery earlier in the year, has come on to help the Indians’ offense and been a sparkplug defensively at linebacker, all part of the team’s growth.
“I think as a coaching staff and as players, we now have an identity,” Hicks said. “We know what we’re about.”
To win, the Indians have to withstand more than 160 passing yards and another 120 in rushing from Red Tornadoes quarterback Derrien Phillips.
St. Stephens recovered three fumbles and didn’t have a turnover to win their second straight over Hickory at St. Stephens.
Hicks said doesn’t much like the new MaxPreps power-rating influenced bracketing process for the state playoffs and was holding out hope the Indians might get in.
“It will be a shame if we don’t make the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve earned the right …”