By Gary Corsair
Staff Writer
Lennon and McCartney. Peanut butter and jelly. Batman and Robin. All great duos.
Add “Hit-and-Run” and “Scramblin’ Man” to the list of perfectly-paired partners.
Yellow Jackets quarterback Logan “Scramblin’ Man” Caldwell and halfback Taylor “Hit-and-Run McClure” may not be household names outside of Clay County, but folks in Swain County aren’t likely to forget the dynamic duo after the terrific two led a 27-7 smackdown in Bryson City last Friday night.
The Scramblin Man’ put a show on worthy of the Peacock Performing Arts Center stage by completing 11-of-12 passes for 144 yards without an interception— his only incompletion was intentional — throwing 2 touchdown strikes — both while being tackled — intercepting a Swain pass and gaining 52 yards on foot.
“Logan was incredible,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure said. “When we needed a pass, he made the play.”
Not to be outdone, Hit-and-Run McClure painted the Red Devils blue by romping for 101 on 20 carries — a healthy 5.0 average — catching 3 passes, scoring 2 touchdowns — 1 rushing, 1 receiving — totaling a game-high 158 all-purpose yards, making a team-high 8 tackles and providing bursts of emotion as Hayesville snapped a 3-game losing skid, improved to 5-3 and notched its first conference victory.
“Taylor played a great game,” Coach McClure said.
Hayesville’s jacked up Jackets were hardly a two-man show. Every Yellow Jacket contributed as the Black-and-Gold topped Swain in first downs (15 to 10), passing (144 yards to 20) and rushing (177 yards to 146).
“I’m proud of our kids. They showed up and played well for four quarters. It was a huge win,” Coach McClure said. “The kids were excited. All credit goes to them. They did the work. Everybody contributed. Even the kids who didn’t play a lot were supporting their teammates vocally on the sidelines.”
The most telling stat was third-down conversions. Hayesville turned third downs into firsts 8-of-11 times. Swain made good just 2-of-5 times on third down as the Red Devils lost their fourth in a row and dropped to 0-3 in the conference and 3-5 overall.
“We were disciplined on defense,” Coach McClure remarked.
Disciplined and prepared. The Yellow Jackets were ready when Swain went with a traditional lineup inside of its usual shotgun offense.
“They went under center for the first time all year. We had seen on film that they did that a few times against Andrews so we prepared for it,” Coach McClure said.
The Hayesville coaching staff had a pretty good night as well as their boys clinched a .500 (or better) regular season record, improving to 1-2 in the Smoky Mountain Conference and 5-3 overall.
In addition to crafting a stellar game plan, the coaches showed acumen and moxie from the get-go by calling for an onside kick to start the game.
“We wanted to steal a possession or two,” McClure said.
Mission accomplished. The surprise call worked like a blue-ribbon punkin’ chunker. Isaac Chandler’s wobbly kick went the required 10 yards before being gathered by Asher Brown, who fielded the ball like a Gold Glove shortstop.
“The onside kick worked, but you still have to go down and score,” Coach McClure said.
No problem dad. The red-faced Red Devils were jolted from their surprise by Hit-and-Run McClure and Kyle Lunsford ramming the ball down the hosts’ throats on 7 consecutive carries that advanced Hayesville from the 50-yardline to the 17.
The Yellow Jackets were still in that neighborhood three downs later after Caldwell was sacked and both teams were penalized. The sputtering march to the goal line appeared doomed when Caldwell was chased out of pocket on third-and-8, but Taylor improvised his curl route, slipped behind three defenders and called for the ball. Logan saw Hit-and-Run breaking for the corner of the promised land and unleashed a strike as Swain’s Dawson Fuller grabbed Hayesville’s gunslinger. McClure caught the bullet to give Hayesville a 6-0 lead it never relinquished.
Swain responded by marching 48 yards in seven plays before Hayesville’s defense put an end to that nonsense.
On first-and-10 at the 27-yardline, Jeremy Graves made one of his four tackles after a 2-yard pick-up. On second down, Tate Roberts’ in-your-jersey coverage resulted in an incompletion. On third-and-8, Josiah Glaspie was gang tackled after getting just 1 yard.
On fourth-and-7 at 24, Hayesville permanently bent the Red Devils’ pitchfork when Caldwell stepped in front of a Gabe Lillard pass. The interception and 27-yard return moved Uncle Mo into the Hayesville camp for good.
Hayesville came out passing in the second quarter. Caldwell bedeviled the hosts with three aerials to Lunsford and short tosses to Tre Graves and Taylor Mac, but a holding penalty stalled the drive.
Only for a moment. Logan and Taylor connected for a 10-yarder, but Hayesville still faced fourth-and-9 at the 35, too far away to attempt a field goal, but not too far for the Scramblin’ Man.
Caldwell was chased back to the 42, skipped out of a shoestring tackle, made a beeline for the sideline, spotted Roberts elude the Swain secondary and fired from the 34 as he was knocked down. The fling had a bit too much mustard on it, but Roberts shifted into overdrive and gathered the pigskin like a delivery-room nurse for the touchdown inches away from the back of the end zone. Chandler’s point-after gave Hayesville a 13-0 advantage.
Swain responded with a touchdown drive highlighted by a 26-yard run by Josiah Glaspie, who scored the Red Devils only touchdown on a 5-yard blast off tackle with 2:30 left in the half.
Hayesville, seemingly unfazed by the ticking clock, went to work on the ground. Caldwell’s 21-yard jaunt on third-and-5 carried the Yellow Jackets past midfield, but a holding penalty two plays later kicked Uncle Mo in the shin.
Caldwell, calm as always, kept hope alive with a 7-yard pass to Avery Leatherwood with : 40 on the first-half clock. Then, on third-and-17, Leatherwood collected a sideline toss from Caldwell and dove just beyond the chain gang’s stick to get the first down by a whisker.
A 6-yard run by Caldwell put the ball at 31, close enough for a field goal try. Chandler put his toe to the ball with :06 showing, but attempt sailed wide, just barely.
Leading 13-7 at the intermission, Hayesville’s coaches addressed Glaspie and the Swain option offense in which Lillard and Glaspie rolled out and the quarterback either kept the ball or pitched it.
The adjustments worked. Glaspie was limited to 27 yards in the final two quarters after rushing for 68 yards in the first half.
An 8-yard kickoff return by jayvee call-up Will Brown began the second half and served as the prelude of the Taylor McClure Show.
Hit-and-Run McClure chained and abyssed the Red Devils with five consecutive carries, including a 15-yarder. A 10-yard blast by Taylor moved the ball to the 8-yardline, McClure’s launching point on the next play, a blast into the end zone. Chandler’s kick gave Hayesville a 20-7 stranglehold.
Once again, Swain threatened to answer. The Red Devils reached the Hayesville 26, but Lane O’Dell jarred the ball loose on a third-down carry and Mike Mauney jumped on the ball like it was a winning lottery ticket.
Hayesville ate up nearly 6 minutes before being forced to punt.
Neither team could generate a sustained drive in the waning minutes of third act or fourth quarter.
The Yellow Jackets finally got their buzz back late in the game. Lunsford smashed into the end zone from a yard out with 1:04 and Chandler added the point-after kick to run the score to 27-7.
Scramblin’ Man Caldwell and Hit-and-Run McClure were the most visible stars, but they had numerous co-stars.
“Avery Leatherwood did a great job of blocking at tight end and performed well at defensive end. Leatherwood and Jeremy Graves, our other defensive end, really did the job,” Coach McClure said. Lane O’Dell and Cameron Payne gave great efforts on both sides of the ball. They get overlooked, but they have to play well for us to be successful and once again, they did.”
Hayesville travels to Cherokee Friday to face the Braves, who reside in the SMC basement at 0-3 and have an overall record of 1-7.
“They’ve played a lot of people close. They gave Franklin trouble and they played Robbinsville nothing to nothing for the first quarter. They came out and scored on their opening drive against Andrews,” Coach McClure said. “We aren’t overlooking them; we’ve got to be focused.”
Honey From the Hive
• The players call up from the JV are making an impact. Tre Graves looked good carrying the ball and returning it and Will Brown and others performed well on special teams.
• The Scramblin’ Man could also be called the Six-Minute Man. Both of Caldwell’s touchdown passes came when he came up to the line of scrimmage to call signals with 6:00 on the clock.
• Swain County quarterback Gabe Lillard showed that he has a pretty good arm, unfortunately for the Red Devils, his receivers couldn’t shake Hayesville’s glue-trap secondary of Mike Mauney, Tate Roberts and Logan Caldwell.
• The undefeated Andrews Wildcats (3-0 in the SMC) appear to be a lock to win the conference, but Hayesville could finish tied for second if the Yellow Jackets win their final two games and Murphy drops its last two.
Box score
Hayesville 6 7 7 7 – 27
Swain County 0 7 0 0 – 7
Scoring
H – Q1 – Taylor McClure, 15-yard pass from Logan Caldwell. Kick no good.
H – Q2 – Tate Roberts, 34-yard pass from Caldwell. Isaac Chandler kick.
S – Q2 – Josiah Gladspie, 5-yard run. Kick good.
H – Q3 – McClure, 7-yard run. Chandler kick.
H – Q4 – Kyle Lunsford, 1-yard run. Chandler kick.
Hayesville passing
Logan Caldwell 11-of-12, 144 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 Int
Hayesville rushing
Taylor McClure 20/101 1 touch, Caldwell 8/31, Kyle Lunsford 8/36, Tre Graves 4/7, Michael Mauney 1/2
Hayesville receiving
Lunsford 3/43, McClure 3/27 1 touchdown, Avery Leatherwood 3/27, Tate Roberts 1/34 1 TD, Bryan Davenport 1/12
Hayesville leading tacklers
McClure 8, Avery Leatherwood 7, Lunsford 6, Jeremy Graves 4m Lane O’Dell 4, Cameron Payne 4, Dawson DeVane 3.