ELITE Yellow Jackets Win in ELITE 8

Logan Caldwell tosses a passes in to Jake Mctaggart

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets played in an Elite 8 for the first time since their 2011-2012 season. The last time the Yellow Jackets went this far it ended in a loss, but not last night. Hayesville showed some nerves early but after the first quarter and the team settled down some, Hayesville would control the game. With three players scoring over 18 points the Yellow Jackets would win comfortably 81-62.

Asher Brown forces the loose ball with great defense.

1st Half:

Hayesville struggled with turnovers in the first quarter which allowed Thomasville to keep things close and have a few narrow leads. The Yellow Jackets had a strong finish to the quarter though to take back the lead 21-16. Hayesville has had huge second quarters throughout the playoff and Tuesday night was no different. The Yellow Jackets limited Thomasville to just 11 second-quarter points. While scoring 23 points of their own, Hayesville was able to take a stranglehold on the game. The Yellow Jackets watched their narrow single-digit lead grow to 44-27 at the half. Not only that a Logan Caldwell three right before the buzzer gave Hayesville every bit of momentum going into the halftime break.

2nd Half:

The Yellow Jackets did nothing to give away their big lead in the third quarter. Give credit to the Bulldogs of Thomasville though, they had their highest-scoring quarter of the night in an attempt to make a comeback. Even with the Bulldogs scoring 19 in the quarter Hayesville answered and then some every single time though. The Yellow Jackets would score 24 points in the quarter to stretch their lead to 22 points. Up big in the fourth quarter Hayesville would cruise to victory, Thomasville would outscore Hayesville for the first quarter all night but with such a significant lead it would not matter. Hayesvilles student section ended the game chanting “FINAL FOUR, FINAL FOUR” as the Yellow Jackets won 81-62.

Kolbe Ashe breaks down the Bulldog defense.

Leading Scorers for Hayesville:

Jake Mctaggart 28 points

Logan Caldwell 20 points

Kolbe Ashe 18 points

Hayesville will now play in the final four hosted at a neutral site against Winston Salem Prep Academy on Saturday. The neutral site has been Designated as AC Reynolds High School in Asheville. The game will be played at 6:00 PM this Saturday.

Interview with Hayesville Head Coach Michael Cottrell:

Kolbe Ashe & Jake Mctaggart Interview:

Caleb Tallman