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Hickory Wins District 10 AAA Crown

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| November 18, 2023

Farrell – For the first time since 2020, the Hickory Hornets are District 10 champions.

Hickory used a stifling defense to turn the tables on the Tigers following a 12-0 loss on September 8th into a 14-6 victory Friday night at Farrell’s Pegues Sports Complex.

“I love the game of football so much; it teaches these young men about life,” said Dungee. “We were sitting there somber at 3-2 after we lost to Farrell and told them to keep faith and we will continue to get better. I told them to believe and trust the coaches. Look at where we are now, unbelievable. 7-0 and District 10 champions, now we’re going to take this as far as we can until the wheels fall off.”

The win was incredibly satisfying for Dungee (a Farrell graduate) to win on the turf of his alma mater, where his coaching career began.

“Growing up a Farrell kid, everything is tough,” Dungee said. “To have the ability to coach at Farrell, a place I love, and then coach for the Tigers and this team is an awesome feeling, and I couldn’t be prouder of this group of young men.”

There was reason to think that, like their Week 3 matchup, points would be at a premium. Also, like their September 8th matchup, there were only two offensive touchdowns.

Both teams scored touchdowns in the second quarter for the only offensive points of the evening. From there, the Hornets’ defense took control of the contest.

The schools traded punts on the game’s first three possessions until Sharon opened the scoring with a 12-play, 59-yard drive capped off by quarterback Mister Ham’s 3-yard run following a six-minute drive.

 

Hickory answered by putting together a nearly identical drive, marching 60 yards in 12 plays, with Zander Telesz scoring on a 1-yard run on a 4th-and-goal play with 2:02 remaining in the first half.

Both teams combined for only 295 yards of offense, with Keenan Scullin leading the Hornets with 46 rushing yards on eight carries. Zander Telesz rushed for 25 yards and completed 3-of-7 passes for 22 yards.

The Tigers were led offensively by Mister Ham, who rushed for 33 yards on 11 carries and completed 9-of-19 passes for 71 yards with a pair of interceptions.

“We just couldn’t get traction and get going offensively,” said Sharon head coach Jason McElhaney. “We would have a good play followed by a negative play, and we had to keep punting. I give them credit. They were doing a great job defensively. They were stunting and giving us different looks up front, but it’s a credit to them, and I blame myself for not making better adjustments.”

The Hornets took their 14-6 lead into the locker room – a lead that remained until the fourth quarter.

Putting together the only offensive drive in the second half, Hickory moved the ball 30 yards in ten plays. However, Lukas Jones’ 43-yard field goal attempt came up short, giving the Tigers the ball back at their 20-yard line with 9:29 to play.

Faced with a 3rd-and-6, Mister Ham rolled out to the near sideline and attempted a throw-back screen pass intended for Ike Friday that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by freshman Jadon Phillips.

 

“That’s on me,” McElhaney said. “That’s a bad spot for that play. I put Mister in a bad situation. That’s not on the 17-year-old kid that comes back on me, the coach. I should have put our team in a better spot. They did a couple of different things tonight than the regular season game, but ultimately, it came down to the fact that they just played better.”

It marked the third straight postseason game in which Hickory returned an interception for a touchdown.

Sharon would get the football three more times in the final 8:29 but could only muster one first down. Though the Tigers did outgain the Hornets 165 to 130 on total offense, it was a far cry from their regular season game when they put up 355 yards compared to only 91 for Hickory.

Hickory’s entire defense, mainly their secondary, played outstanding in crunch time as Timmy Krivosh also added a fourth-quarter interception.

“Our defensive coaching staff did a phenomenal job tonight,” said Dungee. “Defense was the one thing we worked on during our off week. We noted that scoring points was one thing we hadn’t been doing on defense. Three straight playoff games we get in the end zone, just a fantastic job. I was honored to be around Jadon’s dad while coaching at Farrell. He’s got that same heart in him as his father. He’s got a bright heart.”

Senior defensive leader Sean Kennedy talked about what finishing his career with a District 10 title means.

“It feels awesome right now. We lost the first game, and everybody thought we’d lose this one too,” Kennedy said. “We’ve been coming into practice with a chip on our shoulder. We’ve pushed each other to work hard every single day. We’ve worked on the little things we needed to improve, which paid off tonight. It was great to win it as a freshman, but last year especially left a bad taste in our mouths. We told the coaches we will win a District 10 title this season.”

The Hornets will now play District 6 champion Central High School, who defeated Clearfield 41-35 in double overtime. The Scarlet Dragons beat District 10 Grove City back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.

Sharon closes their season at 9-3.

“I’m blessed to be able to coach this senior class,” McElhaney concluded. “This is my second full group through here. I’ve spent much time around those guys, not just during football time but also in the weight room and summertime. I’ll miss sitting in the locker room and talking to those guys. They’re a great group of guys, and I appreciate everything they’ve brought to this program.”

Game Highlights:

Stats Courtesy of Ryan Briggs

Hickory 14 Sharon 6

Score by Quarters

Hickory – 0 7 0 7 – 14
Sharon – 0 6 0 0 – 6

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

S – Mister Ham 3 yd run, (kick blocked), 7:51 – 12-59

H – Zander Telesz 1 yd run, (Lukas Jones pat), 2:02 – 12-60

Fourth Quarter

H – Jadon Phillips 30 yd interception return, (Jones pat), 8:29

Individual Stats

Rushing: H – Keenan Scullin 8-46, Telesz 11-25, Kelvin Morrison 7-21, Sean Kennedy 7-11, Will Archie 3-5, Team 3-0. Totals: 39-108. S – Ham 11-33, Ike Friday 3-23, Labron Wilder 4-14, Cortez Nixon 11-18, Root 1-6. Totals: 30-94.

Receiving: H – Parker Hillard 1-13, Luke Nevil 1-5, Will Archie 1-4. S – Bryson Robertson 1-14, Lamont Austin 1-7, Bishop Root 4-25, C.C. Harrison 2-13, Friday 1-12.

Passing: H – Telesz 3-for-7, 22 yards. S – Ham 9-for-19, 71 yards, 2 INT.

Interceptions: H – Phillips, Timmy Krivosh.

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