Hayesville – As the second-half clock ticked away, it was clear that it was going to be either the biggest win of Andrews coach James Phillips’ four years in charge of the Wildcats, or perhaps his most disappointing loss.
Though there were chances for the former, it sadly became the latter, as Hayesville hung on through a scoreless second half to knock off Andrews 21-20 on Friday night.
Andrews had a chance to win the game with a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds, but Hayesville blocked a Wildcat kick for the second time in the game to preserve the win.
The Wildcats struggled on defense early in the game, but kept counterpunching the Yellow Jackets, who virtually assured themselves of their first winning season since 2007.
That task is much harder now for the Wildcats (3-5), who will need to win out, including against undefeated Robbinsville, to achieve the same feat.
“It hurts,” Phillips said. “Both groups of kids came in ready to play obviously. They executed a little better than we did, what can you say?”
Andrews outgained Hayesville, had more first downs and equaled them in turnovers and touchdowns.
But a few key momentum plays turned the tide against the Wildcats.
After yielding an opening-drive score, the Wildcats went on a methodical drive that included a fourth down conversion and ended with a 1-yard sneak into the end zone by Tucker Holloway. But the Jackets blocked the extra point as a portend of things to come.
Andrews forced a punt and mounted a drive from its own 1 past midfield. Facing another fourth down, Landon White made two cuts inside and got outside for a 44-yard touchdown run to give Andrews a 12-7 lead after a bad snap felled another extra point.
Hayesville took the lead on a touchdown run by quarterback Hayden McClure, and the Wildcats soon found themselves at their own 42 facing a 4th-and-2.
Again, Phillips went for it, as he is not afraid to do, but this time the Wildcats got stuffed with just under three minutes left until halftime.
“It’s one of those things whether to go for it on fourth down, field position wise,” Phillips said after going 4-for-6 on fourth down. “We have tried to have an aggressive mentality the last few weeks. The kids felt good about it, we had a pretty good look as far as the defense goes, but they made a good play. Maybe I should have punted and gone into the half, but I don’t know.”
Hayesville took advantage, scoring two plays later on a 44-yard scamper by Blake McClure, leading to a 21-12 lead with 1:46 left.
Andrews did not sit on getting the ball out of the half, though, and the Wildcats started a drive in good field position after a short kick. Key completions to White and Jose Martinez set up Holloway for a 15-yard touchdown scramble, and White’s 2-point run got the Wildcats within one, unknowingly ending the scoring for the night before the band played.
The opening drive of the third quarter saw the Wildcats drive 12 plays and covert two more fourth downs before failing on the third at Hayesville’s 30. The ensuing Yellow Jacket drive included a bizarre sequence where it appeared Andrews’ Jimmy Miller had intercepted a pass, only to be called for unsportsmanlike conduct for protesting. The refs later accidentally shorted the Jackets a down and they had to punt on what was their third down of the series.
Andrews then started a 15-play drive that crossed over into the fourth quarter, but Holloway was hit hard on one of his team-high 23 carries (100 yards) and the ball was knocked loose. The Jackets scrambled to recover, and they ran off a good chunk of clock before turning the ball over on downs deep in Andrews territory. The Wildcats stalled again and shanked a punt, and it looked like Hayesville might run out the clock. It might even have benefitted Andrews to let the Jackets score to get the ball back trailing by 8, but instead they forced a fumble of their own at their own 3-yard line.
“It’s not in our DNA to let them score,” Phillips said. “The kids were fighting, they forced a big turnover and gave us a chance.”
Holloway hit four different receivers on a frantic final drive that ended at Hayesville’s 21-yard line, where the final kick was thwarted by the home team.
“In practice, Tucker is a pretty high percentage from inside the 20,” Phillips said. “It look like it got blocked up the middle, but I am not sure. It looked like he tried to kick it kind of low and put more leg on it. He’s hit from the 30, 32-yard line in practice.”
Basin is back
Copper Basin is next for Andrews on Friday night for the homecoming game.
The Cougars have not played Andrews since 2014, but Phillips was able to get them back on the schedule this season to play during the Wildcats’ Smoky Mountain Conference open week.
“The kids have been good about rebounding in practice, so I am not worried about them,” Phillips said.
Andrews will get reinforcements this week as 17 players from the undefeated junior varsity squad will move up starting Friday night.