It was a tough start to the Smoky Mountain Conference portion of the schedule for the varsity Yellow Jacket football team. Hayesville travelled to Robbinsville Friday, Oct. 4 to take on the undefeated Black Knights. Robbinsville came out of the gate looking strong with early scores and never looked back. The Jackets had no answer for the Knights and headed back to Hayesville on the losing end of a 55-10 final score.
Fans hadn’t even settled into their seats before Robbinsville found the end zone in just two plays. Following a Hayesville fumble, the Knights took advantage and with 10:38 left in the opening quarter, the Jackets found themselves in a 14-0 hole. What looked to be a successful fake-punt attempt for Hayesville was called back due to a penalty and Robbinsville took over possession. The Black Knights went 67 yards in one play to make the score 21-0. Hayesville was unable to stop the bleeding and with 1:17 left in the first quarter, Robbinsville scored their fourth touchdown of the game.
Scoring cooled as the second quarter got underway but with 5:47 left in the quarter the Knights struck again to increase the gap to 35-0. Robbinsville wasn’t done and managed to score yet again with 3:47 left to play before halftime, making the score 42-0. The Jackets finally broke through with 1:15 left in the half when quarterback Hayden McClure found Payton Ivester for a 27-yard touchdown. Kylan Bunch came on to nail the PAT to make the score 42-7 going into the break.
The third quarter clicked by quickly before Bunch added to Hayesville’s total with a 30-yard field goal to make the score 42-10. Unfortunately for Jacket Nation, that would be the final score of the evening for the black and Vegas gold brigade. Meanwhile Robbinsville would go on to add 13 more points before time ran out, giving the Knights a 55-10 victory.
Following the game, Hayesville’s head coach Chad McClure said, “We got off to a terrible start. You can’t spot a really good team with a big lead and expect to have a chance to win.” McClure summarized the night saying, “We have to execute much better to be able to compete with teams like Robbinsville.”
In other SMC action, Swain County got the win over Andrews 48-15 and Cherokee took care of Rosman 42-21.
Defending state champion Murphy had the night off which gives them two weeks to prepare for their next opponent which happens to be Hayesville. McClure said it’s business as usual as far as preparing for the Bulldogs. “We are preparing for Murphy and I think our players are excited about another opportunity to compete. Murphy is a very good football team but I want our kids to prepare the same way regardless of who they are playing.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11 at Murphy High School. Murphy enters the contest 5-1 and the Jackets look to improve their 4-2 record with what would be a huge win over their rival.
Leaders at Robbinsville
- Paton Ivester: receiving touchdown, 66 yards, seven tackles.
- Hayden McClure: throwing touchdown.
- Blake McClure: 106 yards, five tackles.
- Seth Gillis: eight tackles.
- Kylan Bunch: 4 points.