We won’t know how well the show at Signal Mountain will be received until next high school football season, but the “dress rehearsal” seems to be going quite well.

That’s what coach Bill Price has tabbed the school’s 2008 season. The Eagles are playing a junior varsity schedule this year and took a 5-0 record heading into Thursday’s home game against Ringgold.

Price said he’s aware that some schools don’t devote a great deal of attention to junior varsity teams, which is something that has worked to Signal Mountain’s advantage.

“We’re treating it like the real thing,” Price said. “We’ve got some good kids. I’m proud of the way we’re playing. I hope we’ll be able to compete next year.”

Athletic director and assistant principal Patty Lane said things are becoming more organized at each home game. The field doesn’t yet have a press box or bleachers on the home side, nor does it have permanent bathrooms or concession stands. Those things are being addressed.

What they do already have are abundant crowds. It’s not uncommon to find more than 2,000 people in attendance.

“This community definitely supports everything we do — all sports, but especially football,” Lane said. “We’ve got a great booster club and some people have seemed to go out of their way to come to the games.”

The Eagles have given their fans to plenty of excitement by averaging 48 points per game. Led by sophomore quarterback Hogan Whitmire, Signal Mountain has completed 70 of its 96 passes for more than 1,000 yards.

“I hope we can do it next year when it counts the most,” Price said.

Signal Mountain’s roster totals 53 with the freshman class being the largest. Junior fullback and linebacker Whitt Sitton is a transfer from Red Bank and the only Eagle with any previous varsity experience.

Price has been through rebuilding processes at programs before. This is his first building process. One of his biggest concerns is invoking a weight-training program.

Signal Mountain has an enrollment of about 450 in the ninth through 12th grades. It won’t be known whether the Eagles will compete in Class 1A or Class 2A until the TSSAA announces its new region alignments for football beginning with next season.

In the meantime the Eagles have four rehearsals left. The only remaining one at home is two weeks from today against Cookeville.

The Eagles managed to pick up the Ringgold game recently. They were originally scheduled to play Central tonight, but because of injuries at the varsity level, the Purple Pounders had to cancel. Price said he’s understanding about that.

That kind of thing, along with playing some games on Thursdays or Saturdays, reminds the coach that this isn’t the varsity level.

“The way we look at it,” Price said, “we’ve got 10 practice games to get better for next year.”

Comments