Wednesday, September 11, 1996

Hickman's debut doesn't last long; not much needed
By JAIME ARON
Associated Press

DALLAS - The stat line for Dallas Smith running back Michael Hickman in the season opener against Dallas Jefferson shows a nice debut: 248 yards and three touchdowns.

It becomes much more impressive when you realize he did it on just 13 carries, all in the first 13 minutes and nine seconds of the game.

Hickman's short but very sweet debut puts him at the top of the 1996 season's first Associated Press honor roll released Tuesday.

"I wanted to keep playing," said Hickman, who was on pace to surpass the 850 yards he gained all of last season. "The coaches wouldn't let me."

Smith coach James Blackwell pulled the 5-foot-10, 194-pound senior from his star-making performance because the Falcons were ahead 34-0 with 10:51 left in the second quarter following his third touchdown.

Hickman returned, however, to kick extra points in the second half. He made only one of three tries, but Smith still won 59-7.

"I think he has to be considered one of the best backs in Texas," Blackwell said. "He has very good work habits. And the thing I've said all along about him is that he completes all his runs. First contact very rarely brings him down."

Hickman leads the Dallas-Fort Worth area in rushing, but not the state. The 5A leader after four quarters is Fort Bend Dulles' Adrian Thomas, who ran for 352 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-21 victory over Cy-Fair.

Hickman began his march slowly, gaining only 17 yards on his first four carries.

Then came his first score, a 35-yard run on a right-side sweep through a trail blazed by fullback Dwight Thomas.

The play worked so well they tried it again on their next possession. And Hickman went 63 yards for his second touchdown.

Then the Falcons were backed up to their 15. Rubbing the magic lantern again, they went back to the same play. Same result.

"On the second touchdown, they just didn't wrap me up," Hickman said. "But the other two, I just picked a lane."

Other outstanding Week 1 performances included:

-- No. 1 North Mesquite and No. 2 Odessa Permian tuned up for their Friday night showdown with superb offensive performances. North Mesquite rang up 470 yards of offense, including 172 by Jason Coffey, in a 45-7 victory over Arlington. The Panthers' Mojo was working as they saw three backs each gain 100 yards for only the third time in school history, and first since 1973. Koefie Powell led the way with 151, followed by Ja'Quay Wilburn's 115 and Patrick Strambler's 107.

-- Keyvo Craver of Harleton gained 333 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 32-13 victory over Winona.

-- Kilgore's Sid Rider ran for 292 yards in a 38-12 victory over Jacksonville.

-- Jacob Wilson of Canyon Randall ran for 288 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in a 35-14 victory over Lubbock.

-- Cayuga's Gary Turner ran 49 times for 271 yards and touchdowns of 8, 8, 13 and 75 yards in a 26-26 tie with Buffalo.

-- Itasca ended a 20-game losing streak by beating Waco Christian 46-12 behind Henry Diggs, who turned 11 carries into 264 yards. Former Itasca coach Damon Patterson debuted at Meridian and broke a personal 20-game losing streak with a 28-14 victory over Venus. Meridian's victory was led by Stephen Gann's 260 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.

-- Queen City senior Shawn Dellinger carried just 11 times but still racked up 229 yards and touchdown runs of 36 and 97 yards in a 36-0 victory over New Boston.

-- Dameon Morris ran just 12 times and gained 215 yards, with scores of 55, 7 and 81 yards in Little Cypress-Mauriceville's 30-7 victory over Orangefield. He also returned three kickoffs 51 yards.

-- Kerens' Kelton Jordan ran for 247 yards, had touchdown runs of 3 and 63 yards and returned a fumble 82 yards for a score in a 55-29 victory over Malakoff.

-- LaDainian Tomlinson reached the end zone six times on 15 carries, scoring all of Waco University's touchdowns in a 48-0 victory over Austin LBJ. He had 181 yards.

-- Corpus Christi Flour Bluff's Fred Wallace scored touchdowns of 1, 67, 42, 7 and 11 yards in a 55-15 victory over Port Lavaca Calhoun. He had 206 yards.

-- Springlake-Earth's 55-0 victory over Olton included four touchdowns by James Williams. He ran only six times for 257 yards and three scores, returned a punt 47 yards for the other touchdown - and intercepted a pass.

-- Riley Fincher completed 14-of-17 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns as Texas High beat arch-rival Arkansas High 28-15. It is only the second victory in the last eight years for Texas over its Texarkana neighbor.

-- San Antonio Holmes went down throwing in a 28-14 loss to Austin Westlake as Chris Casias passed for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

-- Bastrop quarterback Terry Taylor completed just 9-of-21 passes, but threw for 228 yards, including touchdowns of 82, 11 and 57 in a 31-0 victory over Boerne.

-- Corpus Christi Moody's John Hammonds caught four passes for 145 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, and he returned an interception 7 yards for another touchdown in a 42-14 victory over Kingsville.

--- Derek Stanford turned four receptions into 166 yards and three touchdowns as Temple spoiled Gary Gaines' coaching debut at San Angelo Central, 40-29.

-- Industrial, a 2A school, knocked off perennial 3A playoff team Carrizo Springs 15-10 behind 21 tackles by linebacker Wayne LeJune, who also had an interception that set up the game-winning touchdown.

-- Pampa beat Lubbock Estacado for the first time in school history, 31-27, behind 22 tackles by middle linebacker Jared White.

-- Senior linebacker Jack Graves did all he could to make sure Stephenville at least tied Denton, making 27 tackles and blocking a field goal in the 14-14 game.

-- Sinton's Roger Rivas intercepted three passes, had two sacks and forced a fumble in a 26-7 victory over Floresville.

-- La Marque's Roylin Bradley, the 4A defensive player of the year last season, had 14 tackles and two sacks in a 12-0 victory over Galveston Ball.

-- De Leon's John Hernandez intercepted two passes and returned them for touchdowns of 20 and 80 yards in a 21-0 victory over Eastland. Hernandez, who scored on two of his seven interceptions last year, broke up two other passes and could've scored on one of them. He also had seven tackles.

-- Michael Jamison returned one of his two interceptions 98 yards for a touchdown and Jeremy Bowie also had two interceptions as Tyler John Tyler defeated FW Wyatt 24-7.

-- Michael Nayfa had 18 tackles and two interceptions as FW Arlington Heights defeated Granbury, 38-16.

-- Abilene Cooper will be happy not to have to deal with John Kovacs anymore after the senior linebacker made 12 tackles, caused a fumble and had two sacks in a 15-5 Garland victory.

-- El Paso Parkland held on to beat El Paso Austin 10-6 thanks to linebacker Sam Miller's slamming running back Albert De La Cruz at the 1-yard line in the game's final minutes.

-- FW Paschal's James Kincannon returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and an 8-6 victory over Dallas White.

-- Shawn Samuel returned the season-opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, scored again on a 40-yard interception return, ran for 105 yards and a touchdown, plus made six tackles in Amarillo Tascosa's 27-0 victory over Hereford.

-- Kountze opened the season with Paul Mayo returning the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and Nick Barker kicking the extra point. It was enough for a 7-6 victory over Diboll.

-- Amarillo's Kyle Duncan was a last-second hero, kicking a 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds left for a 15-13 victory over Clovis, N.M. He earlier hit field goals of 52 and 37 yards.