Hayesville Hands Andrews Ninth Straight Road Loss

ANDREWS — The road continues to be a rough one for the Andrews Wildcats. On Friday night, they made the short trip to Hayesville hoping to turn their luck around, but instead found themselves on the wrong end of a 55-14 rout at the hands of the Yellow Jackets.

The loss marked Andrews’ ninth straight road defeat dating back to last season, dropping the Wildcats to 1-9 overall. Things got out of hand early, as Hayesville exploded for 41 first-half points, leaving Andrews in a deep hole by halftime.

Despite the tough night, the Wildcats fought to the final whistle, managing to put up two touchdowns against a strong Hayesville defense. But there was no slowing down Yellow Jacket running back Tre Graves, who has become a highlight reel all on his own this season. Graves gashed the Andrews defense for 334 rushing yards and four touchdowns, averaging an eye-popping 18.6 yards per carry. One of his runs — a 55-yard sprint to the end zone — had the home crowd roaring.

Hayesville’s Kaden Ledford also found paydirt twice, giving the Yellow Jackets another steady option in their high-powered offense.

With the win, Hayesville improved to 6-4 on the season and continued a trend of dominant victories — the third time this year they’ve won by more than 33 points. For Andrews, the loss was another setback in a rebuilding season, but the Wildcats will look to regroup as they turn their focus toward next year.

It wasn’t the ending Andrews hoped for, but the team’s grit and determination were still on display, even against one of the Smoky Mountain Conference’s hottest offenses.