Last night I found myself with my father at Hornet Stadium for the rivalry matchup between the homestanding Hickory Hornets and the visiting Sharon Tigers. You could not have asked for better weather for the game, because there was nary a cloud in the sky at kickoff.
Although I was worried about an ankle injury to Sharon quarterback Lane Voytik, he decided to suit up and play despite the injury. What made this rivalry matchup intriguing was that I had a personal wager with Tigers fan Molly Bundrant on the outcome of the game. If the Hornets won, Molly would have to send me red and black balloons in July 2020. If the Tigers won, I would have to send her orange and black balloons in December. Although Sharon won the coin toss, they deferred to the second half.
The early going saw a defensive struggle. Sharon drew first blood late in the opening quarter on a CJ Parchman 2 yard run.
In the second quarter, Hickory had a sustained drive that saw Michael Henwood throw a 15 yard touchdown pass to Nathan Richards to tie things up at 7 apiece. Sharon would reclaim the lead with a Ty Elam 13 yard reception. But as time expired in the first half, Nathan Richards scored again with a 17 yard reception (the PAT failed) to get Hickory within one at the break.
Sharon would extend their lead to 21-13 with another Ty Elam touchdown reception, but Hickory answered back with a Michael Henwood 57 yard touchdown run and then convert on the 2 point try to tie things up at 21 apiece after three quarters. Thus, my wager with Molly Bundrant would come down to the final 12 minutes.
Just when everyone at Hornet Stadium thought the game would be going to overtime, Kam Fisher scored the winning touchdown from 9 yards out to give the Hornets their first lead of the night, 28-21. Sharon drove down to the Hickory 14 yard line in the final 74 seconds, but a desperation pass on fourth down fell incomplete, giving the Hornets the win to raise their record to 2-0 and also helping me win my wager with Molly Bundrant.
I will be receiving red and black balloons from Molly for my next birthday in July 2020 as part of the wager we made on the game.
I did not expect to run into some of my church softball friends at the game as well as some folks I knew when I was in high school. Plus, I snagged a selfie with the Hornets mascot named Buzzy. Hickory High School did not have an official mascot when I was in high school from 1999 to 2003.
Stay tuned to this blog when I announce my destination for week four on September 13!
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