A Look Back to Wins for Hayesville and Murphy and Steps to Being Best in the West

By Brandon Stephens

(Hayesville) – – Hayesville Head Football Coach Chad McClure and Murphy Head Football Coach Joseph Watson are reminding players and fans to give thanks for being able to continue football Friday nights, while other across western North Carolina are unable.  Football is a strong thread in the fabric of this mountain’s regional heritage.  They are encouraging the Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs to obviously earn a win; have fun; and be incredibly grateful for being safe and playing football; and give your prayers to all of the flood and tropical storm victims.

This Past Friday – – Hayesville at Concorde Christian High

Hayesville (1-and-4) is in the winning column after knocking down the Concorde Christian High Lions in Knoxville (1-and-1) 37-to-16.  Going into Friday’s game, the Yellow Jackets scored only two touchdowns, a safety, and a couple of 2-point conversions.  The flood gates opened for Hayesville to score four touchdowns.  Junior running back Tre Graves has improved his rushing to 405 yards and three touchdowns on the season.  At the end of last season, Graves finished 2023 with 826 yards and eleven touchdowns.

The Hurricanes That Were Devastated – – Murphy hosts Greensville (SC) Hurricanes

The Murphy Bulldogs (4-and-1) are building on a four-game win streak after knocking off the Greenville Hurricanes (2-and-4) 65-to-20.  The Bulldogs scored on every offensive possession through the first half.  There were impressive thrills in this game.

Junior receiver Ryan Payne scored on a 65-yard punt return that brought fans to their feet.  Payne also set up a score with a kick-off return to the Greenville 31-yardline.

Senior tight end Kenyon Nichols made his mark in the game with a 73-yard touchdown reception.  Nichols has good pass plays with a few being being called back for penalty.

This game is one of Junior quarterback Brady Grant’s personal best.  Grant completed five passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior running back Will Shore had 113 yards rushing and a touchdown.  Sophomore running back Cameron Clem had 72 yards and two rushing touchdowns.  Senior running back Jonah Hedden rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown.  Hedden and Shore also had pass receptions for a touchdown.  The rushing yards were slim for these three players for several reasons.  Most of the starters didn’t play in the second half.  The game was rolling clock for the second half.

Jonah Hedden says this was an obvious fun game for Murphy.  This win is needed to help power the Bulldogs through the beginning game(s) of its Smoky Mountain Conference schedule.

Now the Start of Conference Season – Hayesville Hosts Murphy

Murphy is on a 16-game winning streak over Hayesville dating back to 2008.  The average score in those games was 51-to-12, until 2022.  Dating back to 1960, Murphy leads the series 60-to-Seven.  During the last two seasons, the game has been won by Murphy 21-to-14 in 2022 and 2023.  Two years ago, Murphy almost suffered a loss to Hayesville with poor play execution and 200 yards in penalties.  Going into these two years, Coach Chad McClure has worked diligently to rebuild and strengthen the Yellow Jackets.  The drastic change in the score may be credited to McClure and his coaching staff.

Now let’s talk about winning the west. . . each game for the next five weeks will be critical to being the best in western North Carolina’s best conference playing the best sport on earth.  

Hayesville is working through challenges to get the first win and build on its success.  The work has been built on four players, Senior quarterback Tate Roberts, Senior running back Dawson Devane, Junior running back Tre Graves, and Senior receiver Michael Mauney.  Rushing plays have been the bread and butter for Hayesville, especially for Tre Graves, who carried 16 times for 132 yards in the Concorde Christian game and has slightly more than 400 yards on the season.  Roberts has completed 14 of 35 passes for 162 yards this season (40% completion rate).

One win at this point in the season is not where the Yellow Jackets want to be.  Coach Chad McClure says a challenging schedule; injuries to key starters; and taking care of the ball are contributing factors to not winning the first four games of the season.  McClure likes the effort and attitude the Yellow Jackets put forth each week as a young team that can be molded and developed to breed future success.  McClure says he is also proud of the Hayesville defense.  Helping lead the charge to keep the opponents out of Touchdown Town for the Yellow Jackets are Patrick Denton and Will Brown in the trenches.

Murphy is giving itself a passing grade for its work and progress made at this point in the season.  Brady Grant is hitting 51 percent of his passing attempts for 556 yards and six touchdowns.  Cameron Clem (468 yards and nine rushing touchdowns) and Will Shore (388 yards) are the rushing leaders.  All of the members of Murphy’s offensive backfield have at least one rushing touchdown.  Cameron Clem says he has personally improved his game each week, which he credits to his team.

Ryan Payne (263 yards and two passing touchdowns), Kenyon Nichols (120 yards and one passing touchdown), and Will Shore (73 yards and one passing touchdown) lead Murphy in pass receptions that resulted in four touchdowns.  Brady Grant says the Bulldogs have worked to improve their offense and team overall.

The Murphy defense continues to attack its opposition effectively.  Senior leadership shines with Kadence Leatherwood leading the team with 12-15 tackles per game.  Kadence is joined by Junior lineman Brody Orton, Kenyon Nichols, Sophomore lineman Jude Pinkerton, and Junior Landen Lape.  Each week the defense has been successful with keeping opponents scoring down. Murphy Head Football Coach Joseph Watson is pleased with the Bulldogs effort, which required attention after a rough first game start to the season.

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets and Murphy Bulldogs will kick off the game in Hayesville Friday night (October 4^th) at 7:30 PM.  Stay connected to Team FYN Sports for game updates and game summary.

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