By W. Patrick Queen
Sports Writer
The great New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra once said, “This is déjà vu all over again.” That phrase accurately describes the Hayesville Yellow Jackets’ performance Friday, Aug. 27 against Franklin. A first-half comeback was negated in the second half as the Panthers handed Hayesville a 44-14 loss.
After the coin toss, the Jackets took the kickoff and began play at the 26 yard line. The first play from scrimmage, a pass to running back Kyle Lunsford, was brought back due to a penalty, making it first down and 22. Quarterback Logan Caldwell was able to complete a pass to senior tight end Jake McTaggart for a first down. On the next play, a Caldwell fumble was recovered by the Panthers on Hayesville’s 37 yard line. Three plays later, the Panthers had a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Jackets again moved the ball against Franklin. McTaggart picked up a first down at the 25, but it was called back due to an illegal receiver down field. The drive stalled and Hayesville was forced to punt. The Panthers took over and with 2:34 left in the quarter, stretched their lead to 14-0.
The second quarter got off to a much better start as the offensive line began to open some holes for the Jacket running backs. Lunsford had 12 carries for 36 yards and sophomore running back Taylor McClure added 26 yards on seven carries. After holding the Panthers and forcing a punt, Hayesville made a first down at the 35. After a loss by Caldwell, the next play resulted in a helmet to helmet personal foul against Franklin. Two plays later, Caldwell connected with sophomore wide receiver Isaac Chandler for a 58 yard touchdown pass, making the score 14-7. As play continued in the second quarter, the swarming Yellow Jacket defense held the Panthers to a field goal making the score 17-7.
With less than a couple of minutes left in the first half, the Yellow Jackets recovered a fumble on the kickoff and began play on the Panther’s 42 yard line. Following several successful running plays and with the clock at 16 seconds, Caldwell connected with McTaggart on a 16-yard passing touchdown to close the gap to 17-14 at halftime.
Unfortunately, the second half was not what Coach Chad McClure and his team hoped for as the Panthers running game, led by running back Ty Handly, added 14 third quarter points. Franklin’s second-half success continued as they put another 13 points on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. Hayesville failed to score again, making the final score 44-14 and dropping the Jackets’ record to 0-2.
There were some bright spots on offense though as McTaggart had six catches for 109 yards with one touchdown and Chandler added five catches, 98 yards and a touchdown. Caldwell threw for 278 yards going 19 of 30 with a quarterback rating of 115.7.
On defense, the team began to perform more efficiently as a unit with junior Bryan Davenport having six solo tackles along with six assists and teammate defensive lineman Jeremy Graves contributing four solo tackles, three assists and a fumble recovery. Almost one third of the tackles made had more than one Yellow Jacket player involved which is something to build on. Sophomore defensive back Asher Brown also caused and recovered a fumble.
“I was proud of the way we battled back in the first half,” said Coach McClure after the game. “We were able to throw the ball effectively, especially early in the game. However, we have to find ways to run the ball and be more consistent offensively.” The head Jacket turned his attention to the defense, saying, “We’ve just got to be more consistent with our blocking and tackling.”
Hayesville’s home game against Allegheny scheduled for Friday, Sept.3 has been postponed. A make-up date has yet to be announced.