The Hayesville Yellowjackets will head out to square off against the East Wilkes Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Hayesville is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They breezed past Highland Tech to the tune of 41-6. The Yellowjackets pushed the score to 41-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rams cut but never quite recovered from.
Peyton McGaha
| 11/07/25 vs Highland Tech | 161.9 |
| 09/05/25 @ Copper Basin | 120.8 |
| 10/03/25 vs Cherokee | 119 |
| 10/31/25 vs Andrews | 97.2 |
| 09/19/25 @ Robbinsville | 97 |
Hayesville can attribute much of their success to Tre Graves, who rushed for 125 yards and three scores on only 14 carries, and Peyton McGaha, who threw for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 81.8% of his passes. The dominant performance also gave McGaha a new career-high in passer rating (161.9). Colton Bruggers was McGaha's top target, picking up 78 receiving yards and one TD.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Hayesville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. They are a perfect 7-0 when they've run for more than 200 yards.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last four times East Wilkes and Wilkes Central have met, but the home crowd finally got their W two weeks ago. The Cardinals simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Eagles 53-0. Given the Cardinals' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Eagles are ranked 310th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hayesville better keep an eye on Austin Nash. He was instrumental in East Wilkes' win, rushing for 184 yards and three scores on only six carries. Nash's longest rush was for an impressive 51 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Ayden Guessford was another major influence, as he rushed for 38 yards and ran in a TD.
East Wilkes didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Reece Dobbins and Braylen Walker.
East Wilkes' win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 37.5 points over those games. As for Hayesville, their record is now 7-4.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. Hayesville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 200.3 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like East Wilkes struggles in that department as they've been averaging 301.3 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
