Hissong, Wildcats football team whip Glendale

GLIDE — Will Hissong never had a playbook like this in Glendale.

The Glendale native, who transferred to Glide midway through last school year after an athletic suspension, debuted for his new team Friday and had a career night, leading the 3A Wildcats and their spread offense to a 38-6 non-league rout of 2A Glendale.

Hissong passed for 215 yards, ran for 111 more and accounted for four touchdowns against his former team, which he guided to the 2A playoffs last fall.

“I was more prepared for a game than I ever was tonight,” Hissong said. “I wanted to show those guys I was better than they thought I was.”

Glide’s spread formation — out of the shotgun and with as many as four receivers on the field — caused the Pirates trouble all night. When the Glendale defense clamped down on the receivers, Hissong and tailback Gabe Forrester ran through gaps left in the spread out field of play.

“It definitely helps what we’re trying to do when you have a mobile quarterback,” Glide coach Jeff Freeman said. “Our receiving crew is athletic and we were able to set up the run with the pass, and I think that loosened (Glendale) up a bit.”

It was a frustrating start to the head coaching career of Jim Stever and for Glendale, which was denied on two first-and-goal opportunities and allowed 83 percent on Glide third-down conversions.

“We got them to a lot of third downs and were in positions to make plays, but missed the one key tackle," Stever said. “We missed a lot of key tackles.”

Glendale trailed only 13-0 in the second quarter and had a chance to cut the lead in half when Robbie Henry intercepted Hissong at his own 40, and the Pirates rode workhorse running back Bresnan Williams for 47 yards of a 53 yard drive to inside the Glide 10. But Williams fumbled on third and goal, one of five on the night for Glendale.

The game turned into a rout across two minutes spanning the second and third quarters. With under a minute to play in the first half, Ryan Dickenson caught a 34-yard pass to set up a first and goal. Glendale held for three downs as the clock dwindled, but Hissong ran it in from six yards out on fourth and goal with eight seconds left.

The Wildcats received the kickoff to start the second half, and Brandon Belloir returned it to the Glendale 44. After attempting passes 20 times in the first half, Glide went 30 yards on three running plays, including Forrester’s 4-yard TD run with less than a minute expired on the clock to make it 25-0.

“The O-line really stepped up,” Hissong said. “I didn't have much pressure all night and they opened up holes for us, running and passing.”

Dickenson finished with 128 receiving yards, including touchdown grabs of 65 and 27 yards. Forrester had 108 yards rushing on 16 carries.

The Pirates got on the board late in the third quarter when Adam Morningstar punched it in from a yard out, capping an eight-play, 67-yard drive. Williams finished with 105 yards on 22 carries.

“The running game was effective at times,” Stever said. “We got it into the red zone three times but could only get one score out of it. We had a chance to make it 13-6 but instead the hold us and all of a sudden it's 19-0. That's a momentum killer.”

Glide also handed the Pirates a 34-20 loss in last year’s season opener en route to a 2-0 start to the season, but faded down the stretch. While the Wildcats hope to avoid that fate, Stever knows one loss won't derail a Glendale playoff berth.

“The talent is there,” Stever said. “It’s just a matter of getting execution down.”

• You can reach sports reporter Rob McCallum at 957-4221 or by e-mail at rmccallum@nrtoday.com