- Travis Dockery
Hayesville Falls To Pisgah In First Home Game Of The Season
It was a showdown of a pair of undefeated teams when the Hayesville Yellow Jackets hosted the Bears from Pisgah High School. Both teams had three wins under their belt at kickoff, when the final horn sounded, Pisgah added a 32-7 win to their record.
A long run by Taylor McClure and a personal foul from Pisgah set the Jackets up in the red zone in the first quarter. McClure then scampered to the 1-yard line to set up a first and goal situation. The Yellow Jackets called McClure's number again and the senior running back's hard work was rewarded with a touchdown. Isaac Chandler came on for the PAT and Hayesville found themselves up 7-0 with 2:34 left in the opening quarter.
Before the smoke had cleared from the celebratory fireworks, the Bears had ignited their fanbase with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The PAT sailed through the uprights to tie things up 7-7.
Following the scoring exchange, the Jackets' were trying a short pass when a Pisgah Bear snagged it from the air. That set the visitors up with a great scoring opportunity as the quarter came to a close.
The first play of the second quarter was a touchdown pass to pu the Bears up 13-7. The PAT was no good, limiting the damage.
Following that opening-quarter score, the quarter fell into a defensive battle. Penalties and punts became the name of the game until the Bears found the end zone with a 4-yard touchdown with just 57 seconds left in the half. Pisgah tried to make up for the missed extra point from the first quarter with a 2-point conversion. Hayesville's defense snuffed it out, keeping the score 19-7 at the break.
After differing the opening kickoff, the Bears took the field to receive the kick to start the third quarter. Pisgah was forced to punt and Tre Graves returned the kick into Bears' territory, giving the Jackets a short field.
Hayesville stayed with the ground and pound approach, with Graves, Leek and McClure digging for gains. A holding call against the Jackets backed them up, and the home team tried to convert on fourth down, but were unsuccessful.
Things got chippy on the following possession by the Bears as Pisgah had a player ejected after kicking a Hayesville player who was on the ground. That put the Bears in a first and 27 hole to start the drive. The defense held for the Jackets, forcing a punt.
A facemask penalty and a strong run up the middle from McClure gave the Jackets a first down on the Bears' 22-yard line. After a series of plays, the quarter ended with Hayesville on the 15-yard line, threatening to score.
The fourth quarter didn't start the way the Jackets had hoped. Back-to-back penalties backed the hometeam up to the 30-yard line. On third down, a group of Bears busted through, causing a fumble, which Pisgah recovered. The threat seemed to be stopped as the Bears were in a third and long situation. A short pass turned into a 65-yard touchdown run. The PAT was no good, making the score 25-7 with 9:13 left in the game.
With 22.5 seconds left to play, the Bears put the final nail in the coffin with a 6-yard touchdown and successful PAT to make the score 32-7, the eventual final.
