After falling one step short of making it to the State Finals last year, the Hoggard Vikings beat Southern Durham 21-6 in the East Championship Friday night and have punched their ticket to Winston-Salem next Saturday with the opportunity to play for the state championship.
Hoggard came into the season as the team to beat. Other local coaches and fans knew it.
As the season progressed, the Vikings worked their way to the #1 ranking in the state. Then everyone knew they were the team to beat, but even with the large target square on their back, no one has been able to defeat Hoggard. Not even the second ranked team in the East, Southern Durham, who had the opportunity on Friday night.
It wasn’t a case of Hoggard looking good - chucking the ball all over the field, having lots of big plays, and getting turnovers because of their superior athleticism. Instead, a new Viking team showed up, one that was all about smashmouth football - hardcore running right up the gut behind the offensive line and tough defense that smothered Southern Durham.
Hoggard started the game like they had many times this season; Casey Barth drilled the kickoff into the endzone giving the opponent poor field position and then the defense made the Spartans lose six yards on their three plays from scrimmage. The ensuing punt was partially blocked and the Viking offense was in business at the Southern Durham 40 yard line.
However, the Spartans got this far in large part to their stellar defensive play this season and were equal to the task as the Vikings weren’t able to generate any offense on their first series.
The game settled into a battle for field position with each defense playing well, and Hoggard would eventually capitalize.
Early in the second quarter, after advancing into field goal range but getting pushed back after a couple of penalties, Barth’s punt was downed at the Spartans’ one yard line by Scotty Braswell. The Hoggard D almost came up with a safety to get on the board, but were still able to keep Southern Durham deep in their own end and forced them to punt from their own endzone.
Hoggard took over at the Spartan 42 yard line, and Luke Caldwell, the star wide receiver, came into to take the shotgun snap at quarterback. Coach Scott Braswell wanted to get him some touches, and with the passing game not flourishing, he let Caldwell run behind the big O-line. After several runs, the Vikings were able to get the ball down to the five and from there they took the customary route - a hand off to Shawn Sidbury who has shown nobody knows how to get into the endzone like he does. With 7:11 to play in the first half, Sidbury’s five yard plunge put the Vikes up 7-0.
Hoggard’s defense continued to stymie the Spartan offense and despite a little razzle dazzle by Coach Braswell - a flea flicker that was fumbled and a pass by Caldwell who appeared to be in at quarterback to run, but instead sat back in the pocket and actually overthrew Shawn Sidbury streaking deep down the sideline, Hoggard was not able to score again before the half ended.
After a stalled Viking drive, Southern Durham took over at the fifty yard line and worked the ball down to the Hoggard 33 where they had a big third and six play. As has been the case most of the year, when a big play is needed, the defense plays big and this was no different as Kiarra Scott blew the play up in the backfield for a loss of four, forcing a Spartan punt.
The Vikings would then set sail from their own fifteen. Sidbury bursted through the line of scrimmage and danced his way all the way out to the 44 yard line. Then on third and six, Brad Busby, Hoggard’s running quarterback, kept the ball and was initially stopped short of the first down, but then with a surging push from the offensive line, he worked his way down to the Southern Durham 44 and gave the Vikes a fresh set of downs. Then Caldwell came back in to take a few snaps and after two runs, he gave Hoggard another first down at the 30, and kept the drive going. And from there, it was all Shawn Sidbury. When it gets close to the goal line, this kid gets the eye of the tiger and finds another gear. A seven yard run brought the ball to the 23, a six yard run to the 17, and after a third consecutive run and a Spartan penalty, Hoggard had first and goal on the six. On the next snap, you could feel the determination oozing from Sidbury; as he got past the first tackle, it seemed as if Southern Durham had him contained, but he put his head down and simply would not be denied as he was able to break the plane of the goal line for a Viking touchdown and a 14-0 lead with :38 left in the third quarter.
After forcing the Spartans to punt on their next series, Hoggard took over and looked to put the game on ice. However, with the ball at the Southern Durham 42, the Vikings coughed the ball up and the Spartans were able to recover.
Southern Durham was forced to punt as the Hoggard defense came up big yet again, but it was now the Spartans who were winning the battle of field position and after forcing Hoggard to punt from deep in their own end, Southern Durham took over near mid-field. With just 6:42 remaining, it was now or never for the Spartans. After picking up a first down, Southern Durham was faced with a key third and ten, and their quarterback picked up 26 yards, taking the ball to down to the six yard line. Then on third and goal from the two, fullback Travis Savage powered his way over the goal line with 5:08 left on the clock. Southern Durham missed the extra point however, and found themselves needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie, as they trailed 14-6.
Now only up a score, Hoggard needed to put together a drive and possess the ball so that even if they couldn’t score, they could run time off the clock. The Vikings’ Luke Caldwell got the ball to the Spartan 44 with a few good runs, and from there it was all Shawn Sidbury and the Hoggard O-line. Sidbury picked up 12, down to the 32 and then on the next series of downs came the biggest play of the game, a third and three that the Spartans needed to stop. While they had to bring the chains out to measure, Sidbury had gotten just enough to give Hoggard a fresh set of downs at the 22. On the next play, Sidbury took the ball to the ten, then to the seven on the next, and from there scored his third touchdown of the night, all but icing the game as Hoggard led 21-6 with just 1:29 to play.
While the defense needed another stop, you could feel the excitement mount during that last minute as it was obvious, the Vikings would be playing for the state championship. Smiles, hoots, and hugs were shared on the sideline, and Coach Braswell got a shower, one he didn’t mind and one his team, especially his son, had been waiting to give him all year.
After the game Scotty Braswell told the Cape Fear Sports Report, “It doesn’t get any better than this. This is what we worked for all season, and last season we were here, we just couldn’t quite get it, but to accomplish this season is just amazing…this is it, this is big time.”
And now it is on the title game. After a long season of hard work and determination, star lineman Jonathan Cooper said of the trip to Winston-Salem, “I just want to win, that’s all I can say.”