By Gary Corsair
Staff Writer
Friday’s varsity football face-off between Hayesville and Cherokee was fast, furious and ultimately frustrating for the Yellow Jackets team that fought like a starving prize-fighter before accepting a 28-21 defeat.
“It was just one of those hard-fought Smoky Mountain Conference games,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure stated. “I like how our kids played effort wise.”
The Braves, surely the best 2-7 team in the state provided the “fast.” Cherokee running backs hit the line in overdrive and quarterback Kaden Smith was fleet of foot around the ends as the Braves accumulated 293 yards on the Ray Kinsland Stadium carpet.
“Defensively, I felt like at times we weren’t very disciplined and didn’t tackle very well,” Coach McClure said. “That’s a credit to them. They have two good backs and a decent line.”
“Furious” aptly describes the demeanor of the Yellow Jackets who climbed up off the mat each time Cherokee threw a haymaker. Three times, Hayesville trailed by a touchdown and tied the score or went ahead (7-7, 14-13, and 21-21).
The Yellow Jackets were Furious with a capital F after Cherokee went up 28-21 with 2:38 left to play when Smith repeatedly bounced off would-be tacklers for a 54-yard touchdown.
Hayesville’s fury peaked during a final, last-ditch effort to knot the score in the final 2 minutes. Short passes to Taylor McClure and Kyle Lunsford advanced the visitors to midfield, but a 5-yard penalty saddled the Jackets with second-and-15 and 1: 20 remaining.
The next two plays frustrated and infuriated Hayesville fans. On the first, Hayesville quarterback Logan Caldwell was knocked out of bounds into the kicking net and the block wall separating the stands from the gridiron. Fans and the Hayesville coaching staff wanted a penalty since the contact continued well beyond the sideline stripe, but no flags were thrown.
“According to the officials, the contact occurred inbounds,” Coach McClure recalled. “I felt like he had given himself up and was going out of bounds. In my opinion, it was a little bit excessive.”
Two plays later, on first-and-10 at the Cherokee 36 with just :57.6 left to play, Hayesville’s faithful had another reason to bellyache when Lunsford was wrestled to the astro-turf by what appeared to be a face mask infraction after a one-yard catch. Again, no call.
“It probably should have been called, but wasn’t,” Coach McClure said after watching game film. “It’s kind of subjective with a face mask. You’re not supposed to tackle around the head gear.”
A final hail-Mary pass for Taylor in the end-zone resulted in the final frustration, an interception at the goal line. No complaints there. Smith (who else) made a clean pick giving Cherokee the win by a technical knockout.
The most furious Yellow Jacket was clearly Taylor “hit-and-run” McClure, who forced a fumble and made 26 tackles, which is either a school record or within a whisker of one. How dominant was the junior linebacker? Taylor made or assisted with the tackle on 54 percent of Cherokee’s runs and passes that stayed inbounds.
Hayesville nose guard Dawson “freight train” DeVane also had his mad face on. The super sophomore made 10 tackles. His biggest take-down may have occurred on first-and-goal at the 6 with a minute left in the first half when he dropped Chase Calhoun for a one-yard loss. The drive died when Smith spiked the ball to kill the clock at :15, not realizing that it was the fourth down and Hayesville would take possession of the ball if the Braves didn’t score. On offense, DeVane blocked with zeal and fearlessness.
To the casual fan, the game appeared to be decided by the final fling, the interception in the end-zone just before time ran out. The astute fan realized that the game was decided much earlier, on key plays well before time ran out.
“That’s the strange thing about it. You play 48 minutes and usually a handful of plays make the difference,” remarked Coach McClure, who’s team slipped to 1-3 in the conference and 5-4 overall. “It boiled down to a few plays, that if they went differently, who knows what would have happened.”
The biggest critical play came late in the fourth quarter with Cherokee on top 21-21. On second-and-3, Smith ran right, bounced off at least five Yellow Jackets and sprinted down the sideline for a 54-yard touchdown.
“We gave up a big play late that really hurt us,” Coach McClure said. “We gave up a lot of yards after contact. We had just tied it up. You get a stop and possibly go into overtime, and we didn’t do that.”
The second big play that hurt Hayesville occurred with Hayesville leading 14-13 with 2:30 on the third-quarter clock. On third-and-19, Caldwell zipped a pass to Taylor McClure, who romped down the sidelines for what appeared to be a touchdown. The touchdown was erased due to a holding call near the 40-yard-line. Two plays later, Leatherwood punted to the Braves, who quickly covered 65 yards on 9 plays, all runs, to take the lead 21-14.
“I thought the biggest call was on the screen play we scored on. The holding call. If we score right there, it’s a big momentum swing,” Coach McClure said.
When asked if he saw a holding infraction on the game film, Coach McClure replied, “’Can I say no comment?’”
Not every crucial call – or non-call – went against Hayesville. And the Yellow Jackets also made plenty of big plays.
Hayesville’s first big moment came on the ensuing onside kickoff when Connor Reece gobbled up the ball. That set the table nicely for an 8-play, 56-yard march that culminated with a 3-yard Taylor McClure touchdown run and a point-after by Isaac Chandler that tied the game at 7-all.
Another biggie: In the third quarter, hit-and-run McClure forced the only fumble of the night and Lunsford recovered. The turnover set up the aforementioned 84-yard touchdown that wasn’t. Hayesville should have led 21-13. Instead, Cherokee promptly went up 21-14.
The Yellow Jackets “scramblin” man sure did his best to right the wrongs. Once again, Caldwell, put on a show. “He did great. He had a couple of long scrambles, including one right before half. He’s a competitor. He tries to make things happen,” Coach McClure said.
Caldwell’s scamper on the first play of the first half brought fans on both sides of the stadium to their freezing feet. The play started at Hayesville’s 20 and time expired as Logan ran left, cut back across the middle near midfield and danced away from several tacklers as he picked up 37 yards in a frenzied attempt to reach the end-zone.
Caldwell was just as brilliant after the Yellow Jackets fielded the kick that started the second half. Logan completed 2 passes to Lunsford, 3 to Leatherwood, and scrambled for 17 yards on a second-and-15 play during a 10-play, 69-yard drive that tied the score.
Unfortunately, Cherokee responded with Smith’s 54-yard touchdown that gave Cherokee a 28-21 lead it would not relinquish.
“We had a chance. We didn’t execute as well at times like we needed to,” Coach McClure said.
Caldwell completed 12-of-21 passes for 135 yards against the best secondary he’s faced. He also led Hayesville in rushing with 87 yards and an average of 7.3.
Leatherwood was also impressive. He averaged 39 yards per punt with a long boot of 47 yards, caught 4 passes and made 6 tackles.
Taylor McClure had 43 yards rushing and 53 yards on 2 receptions.
“It was a tough loss, but in the Smoky Mountain Conference you have to be ready every week,” Coach McClure stated.
Will Hayesville be ready for Robbinsville on the Yellow Jackets turf Friday night? Coach McClure thinks so.
“They’re a very good football team, they’re good up front. It’s going to be a tough task, but our kids will be up for it. And they’ll play hard,” Coach McClure said. “It’s a big game. If we win, we can finish in third place. That would be huge for us. We haven’t done that for a very long time.”
The Black Knights are 2-2 in the conference and 6-3 overall.
Honey From the Hive
• In 1992, Hayesville upset (No. 1 in the State) Robbinsville, 21-7. Chad McClure had a 10-yard touchdown run in that game. It was Hayesville’s first victory over Robbinsville at Big Oaks Stadium in 26 years.
• The Hayesville High School Band keeps getting better and better. In fact, they sounded great at Cherokee.
• Tate “Little Big Man” Roberts isn’t expected to suit up against Robbinsville. Tate suffered a fracture early in the Cherokee game. His defensive back spot may be filled by a committee of players.
• Freshman Tre Graves once again showed that he’s varsity material. Look for Tre to see more time on the field this Friday night.
• Cherokee should consider installing a Breathalyzer at their stadium gates. Until then, the Braves fans who shouted obscenities during the Hayesville-Cherokee game should stick to watching college and pro games in bars.
Box Score
Hayesville 7 0 7 7 – 21.
Cherokee 7 6 0 15 — 28.
First downs: Cherokee 18, Hayesville 12.
Hayesville Passing: Logan Caldwell 112-of-21, 135 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int.
Hayesville Rushing: Caldwell 12/87, Taylor McClure 11/43, Kyle Lunsford 2/8.
Hayesville Receiving: Avery Leatherwood 4/36 1 TD, Lunsford 3/16, McClure 2/52, Bran Davenport 1/16, Michael Mauney 1/10, Tre Graves 1/5.
Hayesville Leading Tacklers: McClure 26, Dawson DeVane 10, Lane O’Dell 7, Davenport 6, Leatherwood 6, Cameron Payne 4, Jeremy Graves 3 and Caldwell 3.