Pirates take aim at top

SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — Just before entering the city limits, at the bottom of a wooden sign welcoming visitors, a list proclaims the four state football championships won by South Pittsburg High School.

There is no mention of the four runner-up teams.

When second-ranked South Pittsburg takes the field against top-ranked and unbeaten Jo Byrns in today's Class 1A title game, as last year's Pirates learned, anything less than a fifth championship will relegate the rest of this season's accomplishments irrelevant.

"If we don't win this game, this whole season was a waste of time," Pirates senior two-way lineman Jakoby Reynolds said. "We might as well not have even played at all. It's like working without getting a paycheck.

"We had nothing to show for last season. We did all that work for nothing is how I look at it. If you don't get a ring, you're not a king here."

Cody Wordlaw, another senior offensive lineman who has been a key in helping the team average 14 yards per play and 47 points per game, said that the two-point loss in the final seconds of last year's championship still leaves him with a sick feeling. Several other teammates added that they did not leave their house until returning to school the following Monday after last year's loss.

"Because of the talent and how hard we work, we know we're going to win a lot of games here," Wordlaw said. "But nothing besides a championship is good enough. Last year was a feeling of mystery. It was like 'what just happend?' Anytime I think about it for a few minutes, I still get depressed. It's awful."

Reynolds and Wordlaw are part of a group of nine seniors who, although small in numbers, have had more success than any previous class. Six of those nine were a part of the 2007 title team and would become the first players to leave the program with two championships. They have already compiled a program-best 49-6 four-year record and are the first group to have played in three championship games.

"It's a completely different setting here than anywhere I've been," said senior defensive end Josh Wilson, who transferred into the program last year when his father, Danny, was hired as defensive coordinator after having previously coached at Cleveland and Maryville Heritage.

"They're a lot more serious about the all or nothing mentality here," Wilson continued. "Most places, just getting to a championship is a big deal, but it's not here. That's kind of amazing to me. There have been so many 10-win teams, or teams that won playoff games but if you lose that last game, you're forgotten. You're just another team. If you win, you're one of the legends forever."

This group of seniors were freshmen when the TSSAA introduced the 35-point mercy rule. During their four-year career the Pirates have invoked the mercy rule 38 times, by far the most of any team in the state, including 10 of 15 playoff games. They were also a part of a 27-game win streak and by returning to the championship game today, extended the program's claim as the only school in the state to have played for a title in all six decades of the playoff format.

A fifth title would also break the tie with rival Marion County for the most by an area program.

Although four of their six losses were to an eventual state champion or team that played for a title, the fan base has become so spoiled to success that there were grumblings after a 35-point second-round win over Moore County because it was perceived the visitors kept the game close for too long.

"That's a by-product of the monster we have created here," said Pirates coach Vic Grider, who has a 147-34 overall record and has taken the team at least to the quarterfinals in nine of his 14 seasons. "The level of expectations people have here is unreal.

"But I would rather have the pressure that comes with expectations for me and the kids than to be at a place where nobody cared what we did. There are programs all over where the people at the school or the community don't care how their season ends. It means a lot to our kids to live up to those expectations."