Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Quarterback Tate Roberts, No. 5, and slotback/wide receiver Michael Mauney, No. 24, have sparked Hayesville on offense and defense all year.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Pass vs. grass.
That will likely be the name of the game Friday when Hayesville travels to Monroe to play in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A football playoffs.
The No. 18 seed Yellow Jackets (3-7) will primarily rely on a running game led by explosive halfback Tre Graves against 15th-seeded Union Academy Charter School (5-5), a team that has gained more yards passing than rushing.
That doesn’t mean the Cardinals can’t run. They can. Union Academy had three games of 200 plus yards rushing, four other games with 150-159 yards on the ground and average 5.6 yards per carry.
“I think we have to keep the ball away from them. They’ve got some speed,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure said. “If we take care of the football, sustain our drives and run the ball like we’re capable of, we’ve got a shot at beating them.”
Sustaining drives will be a difficult task for Hayesville, which averaged 9.6 points per game and was shut out three times.
“Our defensive line is the strongest part of our team. We do pretty good against the run,” Sledge says.
The Union Academy defense is led by Michael Hughes, who averages nearly 10 tackles per game and 6-foot-3, 185-pound defensive end Breshen Bennett is a handful. Bennett, the fastest player on the team, has 11 quarterback hurries and an astounding 17 sacks.
According to Sledge, the Cardinals’ offense isn’t as formidable as his defense.
“We can move the ball, but we can’t push it in,” Sledge said.
That’s not entirely true. The Cardinals average 20.3 and were only shut out once.
Hayesville’s defense will be tasked with containing 5-foot-10 sophomore quarterback Parker Frashier, who completed a stunning 68 percent of his passes (95-of-139) for 1,523 yards and 13 touchdowns (with only five interceptions) and has a 120.9 quarterback rating. Frashier can run. Frashier, who bench pressed 225 pounds, leads the Cardinals with 451 yards rushing (5.0 average).
“Our quarterback is only a sophomore, but he’s the real deal,”
“He’s a dual threat. He can throw deep and he can run,” McClure said.
Frashier’s favorite target is a tall order to cover — literally. Bennett, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds and caught 24 passes for 533 yards, is an all-state candidate.
Frashier completed 16-of-21 passes for a season-high 227 yards in a 7-point loss to South Stanly last week, but Sledge wants to run against Hayesville.
“We have to stop their run game and get our run game going,” Sledge said.
Both coaches acknowledge that Hayesville’s fortunes rest largely on Graves, who leads the Yellow Jackets with 777 yards rushing, a 5.0 average and 6 touchdowns. Dawson Devane, Tate Roberts and Michael Mauney are also skilled ground gainers.
The game will likely be determined in the trenches. “I think the game will be determined at the line of scrimmage,” Sledge said.
The Yellow Jacket line is anchored by twin blocks of granite Will Brown and Rayland Martinez. Hayesville’s less experienced linemen will have to excel, a task made more difficult by a season-ending injury to Matt Gorman last week.
“With Gorman out, I’m sure Coach Dockery has a plan,” McClure said. “We’ll rotate some people — Brendon Collins, E.J. Abrams, Kasen Chastain and Patty Denton on the quick side of our line.”
Those trenchmen will also see duty on a defensive line anchored by Devane at nose guard and tackle Will Brown, who leads Hayesville with 54 tackles and three sacks.
Getting first downs and controlling the clock are high priorities for Hayesville, but Roberts will have to get the ball to leading pass catcher Michael Mauney (19 receptions for 336 yards), Ben Bethel, Colton Bruggers and Kendall Boyer.
It will take a total team effort after a 5-hour bus ride to upset Union Academy, but McClure and his boys believe they can bring home a win.
“It’s been an interesting season,” McClure said. “It’s a fun time of year when the playoffs come along. We just have to play better than them for 48 minutes.”
Union Academy
at a glance
L 21-17 to S. Rowan (220 yards passing, 89 yards rushing)
W 33-13 over Christ the King (198 yards passing 262 yards rushing)
W 63-0 over Triangle Math & Science (60 yards passing, 280 yards rushing)
W 20-10 over Bessemer City (110 yards passing, 159 yards rushing)
W 14-7 over Trinity (114 yards passing, 260 yards rushing)
L 21-7 to N. Stanly (138 yards passing, 46 yards rushing)
L 43-21 to Mount Pleasant (209 yards passing 155 yards rushing)
W 13-10 over Lake Norman Charter (97 yards passing 159 yards rushing)
L 7-0 to Albemarle (164 yards passing, 107 yards rushing)
L 20-13 to S. Stanly (227 yards passing 159 yards rushing)