HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Hickory hands Alexander Central first loss of season

HobbsDailyReport.com

HICKORY – Putting together two scoring drives in the final three minutes, Hickory High continued its season-long rebound from its past football struggles and knocked off previously unbeaten Alexander Central 38-28 at Barger Stadium on Friday night.

The Red Tornadoes — who had won four of 33 games in the previous three seasons – improved to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in the Northwestern 3A-4A – with another victory under head coach Russell Stone.

HICKORY 38
ALEX CENTRAL 28

Stone, known for bringing a steady hand to and rebuilding programs, picked up career win No. 269 when the Red Tornadoes won despite being outgained 489-363.

The victory gives Hickory a shot at finishing no worse than tied for second place in the league if it wins Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game at archrival St. Stephens. If the Indians win, Hickory could end up in third place or in a tie for third place.

HICKORY’S HISTORY
Hickory High can finish no worse than  tied for third – and as high as a league co-champion or tied for second place – based on its outcome Friday at archrival St. Stephens. A look at the Red Tornaodes’ conference finishes in the previous 10 seasons:
Year      Finish           Head coach
2016         Fifth                     Allen Wittenberg
2015         Seventh    Mike Helms/Forrest Blake
2014       Seventh                 Mike Helms
2013      Third, tie               Tom Harper
2012      Second, tie            John Worley
2011       Second, tie            John Worley
2010      Fourth                   John Worley
2009     Third, tie               JohnWorley
2008      Fourth, tie             John Worley
2007     First                         John Worley
Note: Hickory played in the Catawba Valley Athletic 2A-3A in 2007-08 and in the Northwestern 3A-4A starting again in 2009.
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com research/files.

The Red Tornadoes currently share second place with Watauga, both trailing the Cougars (9-1, 5-1), who had already wrapped up at least a co-championship.

Alexander Central needs a win on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at South Caldwell to win an outright conference title.

The loss prevented the Cougars from reaching 10 wins in a season for the third time in school history.

Alexander Central led 28-24 after Tevin Clark scored on a 2-yard run with two minutes, 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

Hickory won by driving 62 yards in 1:25 to go up 31-28. The Red Tornadoes then drove 38 yards in 61 seconds for the final score, a 14-yard run by quarterback Derrien Phillips. He threw 33 yards to Antonio Parks for the go-ahead TD.

Phillips rushed 19 times for 121 yards and two scores and completed six passes for 110 yards and three TDs – one to Parks, one to Kasey Hardin and one to Jaekwon Staton – as Hickory reached seven wins in a season for the first time since 2012.

Devon Weiss ran 25 times for 170 yards and three scores for Alexander Central, which outgained Hickory by 126 yards, and that included 54 rushes for 368 yards. Bryson Godfrey added 113 yards on 14 carries and quarterback Gunnar Anderson ran 14 times for 83 yards and threw for 121 yards but no TDs.

The game featured only two turnovers – each team had a pass intercepted – and 17 penalties for 180 yards. Each team punted only three times.

Hickory led 17-7 by halftime after Phillips scored on an 11-yard run, hit Staton for a 20-yard TD and Harrison Boston kicked a 26-yard field goal.

Weiss had the Cougars’ only first-half score with a 4-yard TD run with 2:12 to go in the opening quarter.

Alexander Central closed within 17-14 when Weiss scored on a run of 17 yards, but Hickory answered that when Phillips threw 24 yards to Hardin to lead 24-13.

Weiss ran 10 yards for a TD with 7:53 left in the third quarter and Anderson ran for a two-point conversion, closing the Cougars within 24-21.

Eventually, each team had reached the red zone four times and produced eight TDs while there.

Hickory ran for 245 yards and threw for 118.

Hardin was a defensive force for the Red Tornadoes with 11 tackles and eight assists. Elijah Milsaps and J.J. Rutherford each added seven tackles and A.J. Chilsom added six.

The Cougars’ Jordan Brown had a team-high 12 tackles, Clark made nine tackles and Lyndon Strickland and Isaac Chapman had six each. Two of Strickland’s hits were for lost yardage and Chapman was credited with 2 ½ tackles for lost yardage.

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