By Travis Dockery
Sports Editor
A flashy start for the varsity Yellow Jacket football team wasn’t enough to hold off Robinsville Friday, Oct. 29. After grabbing the lead early in the first quarter, Hayesville was unable to stop the Black Knight’s offensive attack and suffered the 31-14 loss.
Jacket fans who traveled to Robinsville had high hopes early on in the first quarter. The Knights put the ball on the ground during a run play and Hayesville’s Taylor McClure fell on top of it. On the ensuing possession, quarterback Logan Caldwell tossed the ball backwards to Jake McTaggart who dropped a 31-yard bomb into the arms of Kyle Lunsford for a Yellow Jacket touchdown with 10-yard touchdown.
After exchanging possessions, Hayesville found themselves pinned back on their own goal line and forced to punt. The punt sailed over the kicker’s head and out the back of the end zone, giving Robbinsville 2 points on a safety.
That ignited the Black Knight offense as the home team scored 15 unanswered points in the second quarter to go up 17-7 by the half time break.
Hayesville’s defense was able to slow the Knights in the third quarter, but Robbinsville was able to put points on the board with 4:06 left. A 6-yard run and successful PAT gave the Knights a 24-7 lead going into the fourth.
The Yellow Jackets continued to fight and came up big with a blocked punt. Hayesville capitalized on the solid special teams play when Caldwell found Lunsford for a 10-yard touchdown with 7:25 left to play.
Robbinsville squashed any hope of a Yellow Jacket comeback when they capped off the game with a 2-yard touchdown at the 3:53 mark. An extra point made the score 31-14, the eventual final.
With the win, the Black Knights clinched their third consecutive Smoky Mountain Conference championship. Hayesville ended the regular season 3-7 overall with a 1-4 conference record and sixth in the standings.
The Yellow Jackets did qualify for the post-season and will face a familiar opponent in the first round of the tournament. Hayesville will travel to Bryson City to take on the Swain County Maroon Devils.
In the regular season game between the two teams, the Devils controlled the game and came away with a 42-14 win.
Kickoff for the first-round playoff game is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5.
Team leaders
Logan Caldwell: 132 total yards, passing touchdown.
Kyle Lunsford: 178 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns.
Jake McTaggart: Passing touchdown, 15 tackles.
Taylor McClure: 17 tackles, fumble recovery.
Land O’Dell: 9 tackles.