By Gary Corsair, CNI News Service
Hayesville – The Yellow Jackets turned a pair of Andrews turnovers into two touchdowns and a win Friday night.
That was the tale of the tape as Hayesville clinched fourth place in the Smoky Mountain Conference by trumping the Wildcats 14-6 in the regular-season varsity football finale for both high schools.
Andrews (0-5 SMC, 4-6 overall) played a spirited second half, but couldn’t overcome the 14-0 halftime lead Hayesville (2-3, 6-4) fashioned by capitalizing on two miscues by the Wildcats.
The first portentous turnover occurred on the opening kickoff when Hayesville’s Jacob Jones recovered a fumbled return attempt just 15 yards away from pay-dirt. Five plays later, Hayesville’s Seth Leek crossed the goal line after catching a 6-yard toss from quarterback Tate Roberts. Isaac Chandler kicked the extra-point.
The second fateful error happened with :06 on the second-quarter clock when Hayesville’s Tre Graves stepped in front of an Andrews receiver, intercepted a pass, zig-zagged laterally and sprinted down the home sideline for a 54-yard touchdown as time expired. Chandler’s point-after kick gave Hayesville a 14-0 cushion at halftime.
“The two turnovers on offense were crippling, especially the timing at which they both happened,” Andrews head coach James Phillips said.
The Wildcats played much better after the intermission, scoring on their first drive of the third quarter, consistently moving the ball behind the impressive running of Dalton Rose, and holding the Yellow Jackets scoreless over the final 24 minutes.
Andrews kicked off to start the half, but quickly gained possession by holding Hayesville on four running plays. The Wildcats then marched 59 yards in 11 plays as Rose and Holden Todd gobbled up yardage. Rose capped the exodus with a 7-yard run. The point-after failed due to a dropped snap.
The rest of the game was defined by impressive defense by both teams.
“The only bright spot for us is that defensively our tackling was better overall and I thought I defense continued to give us chances in the game,” Phillips said. “Defensively, they put pressure on us inside and on the perimeter, and we did not block well enough to win.”
Andrews’ final shot at tying the score came when Hayesville punted with 3:06 remaining. A 22-yard completion from Everett Tatham to Will Roberts, a 9-yard jaunt by Rose and an 8-yard scamper by Tatham moved Andrews to midfield. But the rally ended there.
Hayesville’s Lane O’Dell sacked Tatham with 1:15 showing, Yellow Jacket Michael Mauney broke up a long pass at 1:06, and Tre Graves batted down a pass on fourth-and-7 with 1:02 on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets clinched the win by running out the clock. Hayesville prevailed even though Andrews ran more plays (53 to Hayesville’s 42), had more first downs (10 to 5), more yards rushing (104 to 99), and had far fewer penalty yards (20 to Hayesville’s 80).
Hayesville had the advantage in the air, as Roberts hit on 5-of-11 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown without being intercepted. Andrews had just four completions for 26 yards.
Rose led all rushers with 93 yards on 18 yards. Graves led Hayesville’s office with 61 yards, his 42-yard interception return, and 20 yards on kicks/punts.
Hayesville’s Taylor McClure led all defenders with 11 tackles.
No. 22 seed Andrews travels to Thomasville this Friday for a first-round playoff game with the 7-3 Bulldogs, the No. 11 seed and winners of four consecutive games.