The matchup between Cherokee and Hayesville on Friday hardly resembled the 22-0 effort from their previous meeting. The Braves fell 37-28 to the Yellowjackets. The contest was a 21-21 toss-up at halftime, but the Braves couldn't quite close it out.
When it comes to explaining why Cherokee lost, don't look at Jonathan Saylor. Despite the final result, he rushed for 52 yards and three scores, and also threw for 254 yards while completing 81.2% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Javan Garcia, who picked up 156 receiving yards and one TD.
Hayesville was led to victory by Tre Graves and Peyton McGaha. Graves rushed for 168 yards and one touchdown while picking up 7.6 yards per carry, while McGaha rushed for 44 yards and a pair of scores. Graves showed off some serious burst, turning on the afterburners on one carry for 53 yards. Ben Bethel also helped with two TDs in total.
This is the second loss in a row for Cherokee and nudges their season record down to 2-5. As for Hayesville, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 5-2.
Coincidentally, Cherokee and Hayesville will both be playing Swain County the next time they take the field. The Yellowjackets will host the Maroon Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, while the Braves will head out to face them at 7:30 p.m. on the 17th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
