Yellow Jackets stop Swain in 41-26 win
To say a win over Swain County to end the season was big for the Yellow Jackets would be a huge understatement. For more than a decade, the Maroon Devils from Bryson City have dominated Hayesville’s varsity football team. On Friday, April 9, that trend ended in a big way as the Jackets headed home to Hayesville the proud owners of a 41-26 victory.
Swain scored first, but Hayesville was able to tie things up when Blake McClure ended a 40-yard run in the end zone. Swain built up a lead in the second quarter, but touchdowns from Taylor McClure and Kyle Lunsford tied things up once again at 20-20 going into halftime.
Hayesville took the lead in the third quarter when Lunsford crossed the goal line at the 1:27 mark for his second score of the game. That would be only score change of the quarter and the Jackets headed into the final stanza up 27-20. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Tyler Anderson stretched Hayesville’s lead to 34-20.
That wasn’t the final touchdown celebration for the Jackets as just two and a half minutes later, Cable Krieger was standing in the end zone and Hayesville’s lead improved to 41-20. Swain would add a touchdown, but the home team was unable to mount a real threat and the Jackets headed home the proud owners of a 41-26 victory.
The win gives the Jackets a final overall record of 2-5, 2-4 in the Smoky Mountain Conference and tied with Swain and Cherokee for fourth in the conference. As for the SMC, Robbinsville repeated as conference champions thanks to a win over Murphy Friday night. The Knights and Bulldogs earned a playoff spot by being the top two teams in the SMC and Andrews was awarded a wild card spot because of their strong season.
Hayesville will lose some key players to graduation, but the returning players now have a season under their belt and a strong foundation on which to continue building their skills.
LEADERS VS SWAIN
Kyle Lunsford: two touchdowns, 48 total yards.
Blake McClure: touchdown, 161 total yards.
Taylor McClure: touchdown, 15 total tackles.
Tyler Anderson: touchdown.
Cable Krieger: touchdown.
SMC FINAL STANDINGS
1. Robbinsville
2. Murphy
3. Andrews
T4 Hayesville
T4 Cherokee
T4 Swain
7. Rosman