By Gary Corsair
Staff Writer
Towns County had more yards rushing and passing and more spectacular plays than Hayesville Friday, but the Yellow Jackets triumphed in the only statistic that matters, points scored.
The visiting Indians had better numbers in stats, but Hayesville was superior in all-important categories often overlooked by the average fan as the Yellow Jackets prevailed 13-12 at Frank R. Long Memorial Stadium.
Hayesville rushed for just 85 yards and only passed for 47 — hardly numbers indicative of victory — but claimed the first game of the season by not turning the ball over, kicking and punting well, returning the ball for major yardage and repeatedly making key plays at crucial junctures of the game.
“Offensively, we didn’t have a good night,” Coach Chad McClure said. “They put us in some bad situations and we played behind the sticks a lot. Our third-down conversions were about 11 percent. We couldn’t move the ball effectively. That’s a credit to them. They had a good game plan, they showed us some things we hadn’t seen.”
The most crucial play of game occurred with just :44 remaining when Towns County quarterback Connor Chastain dialed long distance and connected to Julian Mosley streaking down the visitor’s sideline. Penalty flags flew as Mosley outran Yellow Jackets Tate Roberts and Logan Caldwell into the end zone for an apparent game-winning, 57-yard touchdown. The infraction was offensive pass interference. No touchdown. No 18-13 Towns County lead. Gold stars for Roberts and Caldwell for not interfering with Mosley as he reached for the ball at the 30-yardline.
The call enraged Town County fans, including one who posted video of the play on Facebook. Monday, a fan who wished to remain anonymous remarked, “It was a horrible call. We got hosed on that, that’s a fact. That’s what you get when you play in North Carolina.”
Coach McClure says the penalty was warranted. “You can see it on film. Every call’s questionable, but the receiver did extend his left arm on our corner and got a little bit of separation. I felt like it was a good call.”
The controversial penalty moved Towns County back to its 15. On the next play, Roberts nailed the coffin shut with an interception.
That wasn’t his only heads-up play. Roberts also recovered a Towns County fumble just inside the 50-yardline with 9:20 on the fourth-quarter clock. A minute later, McClure busted into the end zone from 6 yards out to give Hayesville a 13-12 lead it would not relinquish.
The touchdown was set up by another crucial pass interference play — this time assessed to the Towns County defense on a second down that started at the Indians’ 40. The flags continued to fly after the play as two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties — both half the distance to the goal — gave Hayesville first-and-goal at the 6. Taylor McClure waltzed into the end zone on the next play.
More key plays helped Hayesville seal the win in the frantic, final five minutes. Dawson DeVane’s 4-yard carry on a second-and-2 kept a drive alive that enable the Yellow Jackets to eat up precious time as they ran the clock from 4:40 to 2:19.
A minute later, on second-and-2 at Towns County’s 41, Kyle Lunsford blasted into the backfield and sacked Chastain for a 6-yard loss.
It wasn’t the first time Lunsford disrupted the Indians’ offense. When TC went for a two-point conversion after its first touchdown, Lunsford and Caldwell applied stifling heat that resulted in an incomplete pass. A successful conversion would have tied the score.
The defense also rose to the occasion after Towns County went ahead 12-7 in the second when Steve Chauncey hauled in a pass from Chastain and raced 60 yards to pay dirt. Hayesville’s Lane Odell stuffed the Towns County ball carrier to kill a two-point try.
“We got down but our kids kept battling,” Coach McClure remarked.
McClure led the Yellow Jackets’ defense with 11 tackles. Lunsford added 7, while Bryan Davenport, Cameron Payne and Seth McCaslin contributed 6 each. Roberts and Leatherwood had 5 apiece.
Hayesville’s defense made its intentions clear during Towns County’s second possession of the game, an 11-play drive that moved the Indians from their 20 to Hayesville 36. There, on fourth-and-1, a swarm of Seth Leek, Payne, DeVane and Avery Leatherwood dumped the ball carrier for a 2-yard loss to end the threat.
“I was pretty pleased with the way our defense played most of the night,” Coach McClure said.
Outside linebacker Asher Brown appeared well on the way to being the defensive star of the game when he was injured in the first period. He had four solo tackles and an interception before leaving the game with a compression fracture of a vertebrae. He may not play again this season.
Davenport moved from cornerback to take over for Brown and handled the reassignment with confidence and poise. “Bryan’s a pretty solid player for us, does whatever we ask. He hadn’t practiced that position a lot, so he did well considering that,” Coach McClure said.
Brown set up Hayesville’s first touchdown when he picked off Chastain and fought to the Towns County 8-yardline. The Yellow Jackets cashed in on the next play, an 8-yard fling from Caldwell to McClure with 9:13 on the first-quarter clock.
“That was really crucial because we were ineffective moving the football and that gave us really good field position. It gave us a great opportunity to score,” Coach McClure stated.
Hayesville’s kicking and punting also factored into the win in a big way. Towns County began four possessions at its 20 due to three kickoffs into the end zone by Issac Chandler and a booming 59-yard punt by Leatherwood.
“Our kicking game was huge in flipping the field position. Their average start position was minus 27,” Coach McClure said. “I think our average start was minus 49.”
Leek set the tone by returning the opening kickoff 33 yards. Later, he returned a kick 19 yards.
In the final analysis, the sum of little things outweighed Towns County’s exciting breakaway touchdowns — one legit, the other called back. When the smoke cleared, Hayesville was 1-0.
“At the end of the night we found a way to win,” Coach McClure stated.
Honey from the Hive
• Hayesville will have to move the ball better this Friday when Georgia Force Christian (1-0) visits. “They’re a solid football team,” Coach McClure said. “They have a very big line on both sides. Lots of athletes on the perimeter. Spread offense. We’ve got our hands full for sure.”