By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Tre Graves rushed for five touchdowns and Will Brown made four tackles for losses in a rousing 35-21 victory over Georgia Force Christian on Friday night, but the biggest moment for both players came before the opening kickoff.
Nothing those Hayesville standouts accomplished on the field of battle compared to walking hand-in-hand with young Rhet Lovingood and Cooper Godfrey after the pre-game coin toss.
Jameson Dawson and Rayland Martinez felt the same way as they walked off with 6-year-old Cooper Godfrey.
Football didn’t seem quite so important on this night. Every Yellow Jacket knew that breaking tackles and chasing quarterbacks was child’s play compared to brain tumors and leukemia in little boy bodies.
Hayesville Head Coach Chad McClure made sure his Jackets grasped that reality by asking Lovingood and Godfrey to be honorary captains prior to the game.
“These are the bravest guys I know – warriors right here,” McClure said as he presented the two boys with cancer to Hayesville’s players before they took the field. “What a great opportunity you guys have to go out and compete. You got something bigger to play for tonight.”
That message obviously reached every teenage heart. The Yellow Jackets (3-1) won their third straight game in convincing fashion after the JV Jackets rolled for 57 points in a one-sided win prior to Kids Night festivities.
“The crowd was great, we got two wins, and we got to celebrate our kids, including a couple who are going through some serious stuff,” McClure said. “It was a good day to be a Jacket.”
It was definitely a good day to be a Jacket named Tre Graves. “Tre the Tremendous” erupted for five touchdowns and 252 yards (23 carries, an 11.0 average) and had touchdown runs of 65 and 57 yards in the first 5:30 of the contest.
Graves announced his presence with authority on the first play from scrimmage by exploding between left tackle and tight end and Hemi-ing down the home sideline – untouched – for a spectacular 65-yard touchdown. Josue Salas booted the extra point.
Georgia Force Christian responded with a drive from its 26-yardline to Hayesville’s 35 that included three complete passes. Then the Hayesville defense dug in. Johan Webb made a solo tackle that stopped a first-down carry at three yards. Next, Ben Bethel wrapped up a receiver after a six-yard reception. Then Webb and Brown smothered a ball carrier for a two-yard loss on third down. The Blue Knights elected to go for broke on fourth-and-3, but Webb roared into the pocket and the hurried pass fell incomplete.
Two plays later, Graves sprung free again and raced 57 yards to pay dirt. Salas’ kick put Hayesville on top 14-0 with 6:41 on the first-quarter clock.
Following the kickoff, the Blue Knights drove to Hayesville’s 42 with eight passes in nine plays, but the threat ended when three Jackets smothered the quarterback and forced a fumble that Kaden Ledford recovered.
After the teams traded punts, Graves struck again, breaking tackles and bolting to a 38-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Salas split the uprights for a 21-0 lead.
Hayesville fans were thinking “rout,” but Georgia Force regrouped and made things interesting the rest of the way.
“They made some adjustments of defense,” McClure said.
On offense, not so much. The Blue Knights just kept passing. The visitors went upstairs 34 times in the first half, completing 19 for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns. GFC hit on 8-of-14 aerials in the second half to finish with 371 yards via the airwaves.
“We knew they had a really good quarterback and a really good receiver,” McClure said. “They completed a lot of passes, but we had kids right there all night.”
Hayesville cornerback Bethel got a workout, but he more than held his own with a team-high 11 tackles and an interception.
“Bethel had a good night,” McClure said. So did Colton Bruggers, who made five tackles and intercepted a pass and returned it 21 yards.
“All the defense did a good job. They were on the field a lot but they had 10 tackles for loss, two picks and two fumbles recovered. Our defense kept stepping up for us.”
Bruggers, Brown and Patrick Denton had five tackles each. Two of Brown’s bone-crunchers were quarterback sacks.
A 5-yard carry by Graves and a point after by Salas gave Hayesville a seemingly insurmountable 28-7 lead with :50 remaining in the first half, but Georgia Force answered with a 47-yard reception that set up a touchdown pass just :08 before intermission to cut trim the lead to 28-14.
The Blue Knights came out with guns blazing in the third quarter, completing three consecutive passes to reach the Hayesville 25. The drive ended when Patrick Denton recovered a fumble.
The Georgia boys fared better after Hayesville punted. A 15-yard pass into the end zone and a point-after kick cut the once safe lead to 28-21.
Things really got tense when the Jackets fumbled on a high snap and the guests recovered 18 yards away from the promised land. Hayesville desperately needed a defensive stand and got one. On first down, the quarterback was pressured into intentionally grounding the ball, which moved the rock back to the 18. An incompletion followed, but the Blue Knights then completed a 13-yard pass to bring up fourth-and-3 at Hayesville’s 5. Do or die time – and the Jackets killed the intruders as Brown, Brendon Collins, Denton and Martinez dumped the quarterback for an 11-yard gain.
Hayesville then slammed the door with a 77-yard march capped by Graves’ seven-yard carry across the goal line. Salas’ kick off a bad snap pushed the lead to 35-21.
Hayesville football fans are riding high after their boys scored 76 points the last two weeks, but things are about to get rougher.
“It was a good win going into the conference schedule. We’re excited,” McClure stated.
Excited, but . . . well, nobody wants to play Robbinsville on the Black Knights’ turf.
“Big Oaks is a tough place to play,” McClure stated. “They have an experienced line and plenty of players with three years experience. This will be a good gauge of where we are.”
Robbinsville is 2-2 and wins over Tuscola (28-14) and Mitchell (35-6) and losses to Franklin (28-7) and Mountain Heritage (50-19).