Hayesville – After beating North Georgia to start 4-0 for the first time since 1963, head coach James Phillips didn’t want to focus on the Wildcats’ historic start. Instead, he wanted to shift his attention to Smoky Mountain Conference play, which he calls the “championship season.”
Andrews checked off the first box of its five-game conference slate Friday night, controlling the Yellow Jackets from start to finish in a 31-7 win.
“We played well,” Phillips said. “We executed well and took care of the ball. Defensively we played pretty well against a really good quarterback and solid offense. I was pretty pleased with the execution.”
The Wildcats (5-0 overall, 1-0 Smoky Mountain Conference) came in with a plan to run the ball, control the clock and limit Hayesville’s offense, and did exactly that. Despite limiting Isaac Weaver’s carries due to a lingering injury, Andrews still ran for 271 yards and almost five yards per carry. All of its six drives, not including the final drive that included three game-ending kneel-downs, ended in Yellow Jackets territory.
Hayesville (2-4, 0-1) struggled to contain Austin Martin, who finished with 139 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. His 46-yard touchdown run right up the middle of the Yellow Jackets’ defense put Andrews on the board in the first quarter.
“He’s such a smart running back and a smart football player,” Phillips said of Martin. “It’s hard to believe sometimes that he missed a whole year with the injury he had and surgery and rehab. He’s worked hard to get back to 100 percent. He’s gaining confidence.”
While the Wildcats were running the ball effectively, the defense played complimentary football in containing Hayesville quarterback Logan Caldwell. The junior had completed 66 percent of his passes entering the game, but finished just 13-for-24 with 123 yards and two interceptions.
Weaver had both interceptions, and Andrews capitalized on both with touchdowns. The first interception was an underthrown deep ball that Weaver just had to jump in front of. He finished the ensuing drive with a 24-yard receiving touchdown, and Martin’s two-point conversion run gave the Wildcats a 16-0 lead with 4:30 to go in the first quarter.
The second ended an 11-play drive, and was the best play of the night. After a holding pushed Hayesville back to the Wildcats 21-yard line on a second and goal, Caldwell was flushed from the pocket and fired a pass to the right side of the end zone. Weaver timed it perfectly, jumping the receivers’ route and coming down with the ball.
Andrews followed with a 20-play drive that inched down the field until it ended with Weaver using a strong second effort to get into the end zone on fourth and goal from the Yellow Jackets’ 2 yard line. His two-point conversion run gave the Wildcats a 24-0 lead with 1:18 to go in the second quarter.
Despite limited carries, Weaver was still able to make a big impact on the game, finishing with 63 yards and two touchdowns to go along with the two interceptions.
“We’ve tried to be careful with him the last couple weeks and allow him to heal up,” Phillips said of Weaver. “But he’s a fierce competitor, and he’s always wanting to be on the field.”
Andrews will travel to Swain County (2-2) this week, which will be the Maroon Devils first game in three weeks because of COVID-19 protocols. The Wildcats’ 36-14 win over Swain County last year was their first against the Maroon Devils since 1998, which was also the last time Andrews won in Bryson City.