Haysi wins 2nd straight Black Diamond District title

BIRCHLEAF, Va. – Defense ruled, and it ruled in favor of Haysi.

Haysi won its second straight Black Diamond District championship, defeating Honaker, 8-6, Friday night at Sandlick Elementary School.

The win sends Haysi (5-5, 3-0) into the Region D, Division 1 playoffs. The loss ends the season for both Honaker (4-6, 2-1) and Hurley, which needed a Honaker victory to earn a playoff berth.

It was all about defense in this battle of Tigers, the 17th straight time in which this game decided the BDD crown. Honaker’s defense forced three Haysi fumbles and kept the home team out of the end zone after a first-quarter score.

The Haysi defense sacked Honaker quarterback Chaz Miller nine times overall, and had at least as many hits and hurries, and effectively shut down the Honaker running game in the second half.

“We did a really good job bottling them up up the middle and getting pressure,” Haysi defensive coordinator Dewayne Stanley said. “We have three seniors right in the center of our defense, Jeremy Yates, Chris Whitt and Chris Fleming, and they all did a great job.

“We’ve been getting better all year on defense. Our young guys are learning, and we’ve had just enough senior leadership to bring them along.”

What little offense either team could muster came in the first half. Haysi (5-5, 3-0) took advantage of a Honaker fumble to take an 8-0 lead. Dakota Stanley’s spectacular one-hand grab of a 12-yard pass from Fleming set up a 14-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Yates midway through the opening period.

Honaker drove 82 yards in nine plays for its only points. Miller’s 27-yard run and two penalties on Haysi set up Miller’s 2-yard TD pass to tight end Joshua Vandyke at the 5:28 mark of the second period.

Both teams had other chances to score in the first half. Each club had drives end on downs, and fumbles, including Honaker, which recovered a fumble at the Haysi 39-yard line with one minute remaining before halftime. Haysi’s Derick Blair intercepted a Honaker pass on the next play.

“Both teams missed opportunities to score, and most of those opportunities came in the first half,” Honaker coach Doug Hubbard said.

Blake Gent ran 15 times for 83 yards for Honaker, with 63 of those yards coming in the first half. The Tigers could not move the ball in the second half, when it punted five times.

“We run well in spurts, but we just aren’t consistent,” Hubbard added. “We get yards in a spurt here, a spurt there. Their pressure killed us.”

Fleming was able to elude Honaker pressure often enough to complete 10-of-19 passes for 77 yards, and run for 52 yards on 13 attempts for a Haysi offense that struggled after the first quarter. David Taylor and Gage Asbury combined for three sacks for Honaker.

“We just couldn’t get it going on offense,” Haysi coach James Colley said. “We stopped ourselves.”

Whitt, Yates, Devin Edwards and Alex Yates were among the leaders of a Haysi defense that held Honaker to 33 yards of offense in the second half. Edwards got a key sack for a 12-yard loss on Honaker’s last possession one play after Miller had picked up a first down at his own 28-yard line with just over a minute remaining.

“Everybody helped bring pressure,” Whitt said. “The ends and tackles filled holes, and that allowed us linebackers to get to the quarterback.”

The win culminated a complete turnaround in the second half of the season for Haysi, which won five of six games after an 0-4 start, and allowed just six points in three BDD games.

“This game is what we prepared all year for,” Whitt said.

The Haysi win marked the first time the home team was victorious in this series since Honaker won at home in 2004. The second half was played with just four officials. The fifth official spent the second half in the press box. He told observers he was “removed from the game.”
 
Honaker 0 6 0 0–6
Haysi 8 0 0 0–8
Scoring Summary
Hay-Yates 14 run (T. Edwards pass from Fleming)
Hon-Vandyke 2 pass from Miller (run failed)
Team Stats
First Downs: Hon 10, Hay 9; Rushes-Yards: Hon 36-104, Hay 32-100; Passing Yards: Hon 36, Hay 77; Comp-Att-Int: Hon 6-17-1, Hay 9-19-1; Fumbles-Lost: Hon 7-1, Hay 4-3; Penalties-Yards: Hon 3-13, Hay 5-38; Punts-Average: Hon 6-312., Hay 5-38.8.