By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville eighth grader Kabe Shaheen looked a lot like a high school phenom when he gathered in a screen pass and rocketed 74 yards down the Robbinsville sideline for a spectacular touchdown run on Thursday.
Shaheen had the play of the day, but his electrifying romp to pay-dirt was Hayesville’s only touchdown in a 27-6 Robbinsville victory.
Last week’s game at Frank R. Long Memorial Stadium was closer than the score indicated.
“There was a point in the game when I thought it could go either way,” Hayesville Coach Brett Graves said.
That point came in the first half.
Robbinsville, 5-1, led by a single touchdown late in the second quarter but tacked on an touchdown just before halftime to put Hayesville, 1-4, in a hole it couldn’t climb out of.
It wasn’t because the Yellow Jackets didn’t bust their tails; they did.
“The effort was there,” Graves remarked. “Crow Collins did pretty good at corner again. Lance Coker played really well at defensive end. Offensively, Matt Gorham, has turned into one of our better players and it’s only his first year playing. Mason Buckner had a good game on defense.”
The Yellow Jacket defense had plenty of memorable moments, like when Lawson Bailey buried a Black Knight 8 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the third quarter.
A high point for the defense came after the Black Knights picked up a first down by pushing the ball to Hayesville’s 5-yardline. First, Johan Webb and Pacey Cable stopped the quarterback for no gain. Next, Mason Buckner dropped a ball carrier 3 yards behind the line. Then, on third-and-goal on the 8, Webb dropped a Black Knight for a 4-yard loss. On fourth down, a swarm of Yellow Jackets chased the Robbinsville runner out of bounds short of the stick.
Hayesville hopes to break a four-game losing streak at 6 p.m. Thursday at Andrews.