All week, the greater Hickory area heard nothing but hype about the big rivalry game coming up between Hickory High and St. Stephens, and the 2008 chapter found a rivalry renewed.

    “I’ve never beat Hickory,” Peterson said. “All this hype, and all their talking, we finally made it pay off, and it feels great. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.”

    That feeling is one that has not come too often, as this was the first time St. Stephens beat Hickory since the 1993 season, when the Indians topped the Red Tornadoes at Barger Stadium.

    Peterson got the scoring night started off with his 22-yard interception return with 7 minutes, 7 seconds left in the opening quarter. After a missed point-after attempt by Brandon Hall, the Indians led 6-0, and the running back was just getting warmed up.

    In the second quarter, Peterson punched in his second scoring ticket of the night on a 5-yard run with 10:25 to play in the first half. The Indians then decided to make up for the missed extra point, putting the ball back in Peterson’s hands, and he drove in for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.

    “Everyone thought we could (win), everyone believed in it, we just had to put our minds to it and go for it,” Peterson said. “This was my hardest game I’ve ever played, and I put it all out on the line.”

    Hickory (2-2, 1-1 Catawba Valley Athletic Conference) finally found pay dirt, scoring on a 1-yard run from running back Rhakim Barrett (16 carries-93 yards) with 4:32 left to play in the second quarter, cutting the Indians lead to 14-7.

    Not to be outdone, St. Stephens (3-1, 1-1) wanted a little more cushion going into the half. They responded with a 13-play drive, capped off with the 12-yard scamper by junior Antonio Sherrel to make it 21-7 heading into halftime.

    The Red Tornados came out swirling to start the second half, finding the end zone on Kyshell Geter’s (21 carries, 115 yards) 1-yard run, cutting the Indians lead back down to seven at 21-14 with 6:33 left in the third. Hickory’s third quarter dominance continued as last week’s hero, receiver Trevin Parks (four receptions for 91 yards), snagged as 36-yard TD reception from Hickory quarterback Kevin Shelton (4-11, 91 yards, interception) knotting the score up at 21 with 1:05 left to play in the third frame.

    With Hickory turning the game back into a nail bitter, Peterson (19 carries for 98 yards and 2 TDs) arose to the challenge, as he plugged in for the game winner mid-way through the fourth, leaving the Indians hopes for victory on there defense.

    Hickory started driving the ball down the field and looked to make the come back, putting together a big 12-play drive. Taking the ball all the way down to Indians’ 28, Hickory faced a fourth-and-3 to keep its victory hopes alive. Geter got the call, but was met in the backfield by Indians defensive end Marcus Byrd, turning the ball over on downs, with 2:06 left to play and more importantly, closing the door on the Red Tornadoes.

    “I didn’t even know he had the ball,” Byrd said smiling. “I just tackled the first guy I saw when I got through the line.”

    St. Stephens hosts Hibriten and Hickory visits Maiden in the teams’ next-week matchups.