Wilmington falls in battle of unbeatens
Wilmington (20) vs. Hickory (28)
Written: Oct 15, 2016
By Ed Farrell
CNHI News Service
HERMITAGE — Down two scores to an unbeaten, state-ranked opponent, all Hickory High backup quarterback quarterback Hayden Gallagher had to do was play the game of his young life.
Which he ultimately did...with a little help from his friends.
“Hey, you can’t look at it that way, anyways. It’s not like the backup can’t come in there and do the job, especially when all you’ve really gotta do is hand it to Carr,” Wilmington High coach Terry Verrelli said.
Essentially, exactly. To be precise Gallagher gave the ball to Chuck Carr, and Carr carried for 201 yards and four touchdowns Friday night, hoisting Hickory to a 28-20 District 10, Region 2-AA win over Wilmington.
“We asked Hayden to manage the football game for us. He made a couple mistakes, but, my goodness gracious,” Hickory coach Bill Brest said. “In the summer he performed, in camp he performed, in the scrimmage he performed. We get him reps in practice.”
“We’ll see what happens in the future, but right now we’re very proud of him,” added Brest, who became Hickory program’s career coaching wins leader (73-14, seventh season).
Hickory (8-0 region, 8-0 overall) has captured the last five District 10 Class AA championships.
For his career Carr eclipsed the 6,000-yard rushing plateau as he pursues the all-time D-10 record (Lakeview’s Blake Reddick 6,548). Also, he surpassed the 100-mark in career TDs and now has 101 — 34 this season.
Unofficially, Carr has 6,140 career yards. Former Sharon standout T.J. Phillips (6,241) is his next target among Mercer County running backs.
With Wilmington leading 14-0 with 10:56 remaining to intermission, Gallagher got his opportunity. Hickory’s staring signal-caller Luke Brennan sustained a right-leg injury after releasing a pass. Brennan did not return.
“Listen, the shock-effect’s gotta go through you. We got it out of our system, and my mind goes immediately to what we’re gonna do with this football team, what’s in the best interest of Hayden so he can manage this game,” related Brest, reflecting on Hickory’s suddenly-dire situation. “We knew there were some attributes of his that we could capitalize on, and we tried to do that.”
Gallagher gave the ball to Carr, who scored on 3-yard and 1-yard runs, and at halftime Hickory had forged a 14-all stalemate.
Spencer DeMedal and Kyle Slicker scored for the ‘Hounds in the first and second stanzas on respective 4-yard and 2-yard runs, the latter with 8:23 remaining to intermission.
In the second half Carr contributed 6-yard and 7-yard scoring sprints, Nos. 100 and 101 for his career.
The former was set up by a fumble recovery by Nathan Marchand on a muffed ‘Hounds handoff. Carr carried on all five plays of the abbreviated 17-yard drive as the Stingers assumed their initial lead (21-14), with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter.
In the final frame Hickory had 90 yards of turf to traverse following a Wilmington punt. Carr carried 7 times, including a 51-yarder that set up his own score with 4:29 left. That had Hickory ahead 28-14.
Wilmington scored with 5 ticks to play. Reese Bender’s 2nd-and-goal pass from the 5-yard line was tipped at the line of scrimmage, so lineman Matt Jamison became an eligible receiver, and he scored.
As the game progressed Gallagher gained confidence. He completed his first four pass attempts for 48 yards.
“I was very nervous. When Luke went down I just wanted to see if he was okay, first of all,” Gallagher related, adding, “Everybody’s name is called at one point, and mine was called (Friday) night and I had to step up.”
“I just want to thank my O-line for blockin’ their butts off and to Chuck Carr for running the ball hard every single carry, like always. Great running back,” Gallagher said. “It was just a great, overall win.”
“I was definitely gaining confidence as the game went on, definitely getting more comfortable back there, ready to play more downs,” he added.
Following Carr’s third TD it appeared Wilmington went in for the game-tying score with 9:14 remaining.
On a first-down play from Hickory’s 39-yard line DeMedal, on a wheel route, caught Bender’s ball along the sideline for an apparent TD; however officials ruled DeMedal interfered with Hickory defender Caleb Gagliardi, wiping Wilmington’s score off the board. Ultimately, the Hounds had to punt, setting up Hickory’s 90-yard drive for its insurance score.
Verrelli refused to offer an alibi or second-guess the call.
“I really didn’t get a look...I don’t know. They’re a good football team, they’re a good football team defensively, too. Hey, we did our best; it wasn’t good enough, that’s all,” Verrelli said.
“(The Greyhounds) hung in there and didn’t quit, and that’s what you’re looking for, especially for the new kids who were in there in the big time, the big game. We got a little bit behind, but they didn’t give up,” Verrelli continued.
“I thought we played a good game, so I can’t complain,” added Verrelli, who remains five wins shy of 300 for his coaching career. Wilmington is now 7-1, both in the region and overall.
“It’s tough to lose. Nobody likes to lose and it’s a downer for (the Greyhounds),” Verrelli admitted. “But I think they’re aware that they played a good game, could even have been a little closer. But they’ll bounce back, that won’t be a problem.”
(Ed Farrell writes for the Sharon Herald).
WILMINGTON HICKORY
18 First downs 14
142 Rushing yards 216
194 Passing yards 106
29-20-0 Att-comp-int 14-8-0
336 Total yards 322
1-1 Fumbles-lost 0-0
2-15 Penalties-yards lost 5-37
WILMINGTON 7 7 0 6 20
HICKORY 0 14 7 7 28
Scoring plays
WILMINGTON – Spencer DeMedal, 4-yard run (Jacob Winters kick)
WILMINGTON – Kyle Slicker, 2-run (Winters kick)
HICKORY – Chuck Carr, 3-yard run (Scarton kick)
HICKORY – Carr, 1-yard run (Scarton kick)
HICKORY – Carr, 6-yard run (Scarton kick)
HICKORY – Carr, 7-yard run (Scarton kick)
WILMINGTON – Matt Jamison, 5-yard pass from Bender (kick failed)
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