Hickory falls to 5-6, ties St. Stephens for third place
STILL REBOUNDING
With a 5-6 record, Hickory will need to get into the state playoffs and win twice to avoid having six or fewer victories for the 10th time in the last 11 years:
Year Record
2008 6-6
2009 6-6
2010 4-8
2011 0-13*
2012 8-5
2013 6-6
2014 1-10
2015 1-10
2016 2-9
2017 6-6
2018 5-6
TOTALS 45-85
*–includes nine forfeits
HobbsDailyReport.com
TAYLORSVILLE – Alexander Central High scored the game’s final 17 points – 15 of them in the fourth quarter — and beat visiting Hickory 31-17 on Thursday night to close the regular season and finish second in Northwestern 3A-4A football.
The Cougars (9-2, 5-2) trailed 17-14 after a 23-yard field goal by Hickory’s Harrison Boston but kept the Red Tornadoes (5-6, 3-4) scoreless the rest of the way.
A team safety with 22 seconds left in the third quarter closed Alexander Central within 17-16.
The go-ahead score came on a 45-yard pass from Lance Justice to A.J. Miller with 9:23 to play with Miller adding a two-point conversion run. About five minutes later, Tevin Clark ran 10 yards for a TD to close a game that was originally scheduled last Friday (the game was rescheduled for Monday but then delayed again by weather).
Alexander Central finished second behind Watauga by winning – giving Butch Carter his 130th career win and a 26-9 mark in three seasons as head coach in Taylorsville.
The Cougars will advance to the postseason for the third straight season. They’ll learn their first-round 3A opponent on Saturday when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) releases the pairings.
The postseason was originally set to begin on Friday but has been delayed one week after the NCHSAA, re-acting to a hurricane that caused extensive damage in Eastern North Carolina, extended the regular season by one week.
Hickory — now 11-11 in two seasons under head coach Russell Stone — will have to wait and see if can get back to the playoffs. The Red Tornadoes tied St. Stephens for third place and the Indians won their head-to-head game.
On Thursday night, the Cougars prevailed despite converting only two of 10 third downs while Hickory converted eight of 12.
Alexander Central outgained Hickory 291-241 but the Cougars forced three turnovers, including Jamison Benfield returning an interception 35 yards to open the scoring.
The Cougars were up 14-0 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter after Steven Montgomery, who gained 54 yards on three carries, scored on a 9-yard run.
Hickory tied it with a two-score second quarter – a 1-yard run by Cody Young (20 carries for 65 yards) and a 20-yard run by quarterback Bryce Sober (17 carries for 76 yards, 11-19-2 for 87 yards passing).
Boston kicked his field goal with 5:47 left in the third quarter, giving Hickory a three-point lead.
Miller helped the Cougars rally and finished with 10 carries for a team-high 762 yards and caught three passes for 73 yards, including a TD from Justice (5-8-1, 98 yards).
Jordan Brown and Isaac Chapman led Alexander Central’s defense with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Chapman had a sack and four tackles for 23 lost yards while Tray Lackey had eight tackles (1 ½ for lost yardage), and Marterion Howell added six tackles for the Cougars. Benfield and Jesse Scronce had interceptions for Alexander Central.
J.J. Rutherford’s seven tackles and an interception led Hickory with Deandre Carlton, Sebastian Parrish and Jack Thomlinson each adding six. Parrish had 1 ½ hits that resulted in lost yardage.
Notes
Alexander Central, last season’s Northwestern 3A-4A champion, is 19-4 in its last 23 games … This is Carter’s ninth consecutive playoff team and his 14th in 18 years as a head coach. His last six teams at South Caldwell made the postseason and 11 made the state playoffs in his 15 seasons in Hudson .. Stone, in his 38th season as a head coach, coached in his 444th game (268 wins)… This is the sixth Alexander Central team (since 1978) to win at least nine games (the others were in 1983, 2006, 2009, 2010 and last year)… Hickory has not had a winning season since going 8-5 in 2012.