In a condemned stadium, an overflow crowd cheered a historic champion Friday night.
As crazy as that sounds, it was true before the kickoff of East Ridge's memorable 28-13 home win over Chattanooga Christian School that completed the Pioneers' march to the football program's first 10-0 mark.
And the ramifications of the moment were even more clear than the East Ridge students standing in the visitors' stands chanting, "We want Moore."
That was for star running back Traneil Moore, and their location was because of the season-long scenario of East Ridge dealing with the distraction of Hamilton County officials determining that the home stands at Raymond James Stadium were unsafe.
The Pioneers refused to listen to any of the background noise, be it from preseason naysayers or county property inspectors. Nope, with Moore carrying the load offensively and a defensive front eight that collapsed pockets and corralled ball carriers, these Pioneers chased history and ignored all distractions to win the Region 3-3A championship after going 5-0 in league play.
"I think we'll all savor the fact that they earned this," East Ridge coach Tracy Malone said after his team's historic win denied CCS a chance at what would have been its first region title. "We'll get back to work on Monday, and they have been great about working toward the next game.
"But if you asked me before the season if I thought we could go 10-0, I'd have said no way. These guys just never quit working."
Moore was the stallion pulling the wagon again Friday night. He rushed for 180 yards and two scores before halftime and helped East Ridge take a 14-10 lead into the locker room. He injured his knee right before the half as the student section was chanting his name. Despite wearing an ice pack on his left leg for all of the third quarter, Moore returned with less than four minutes left in the game.
He ran the ball twice for 30 yards and a game-sealing touchdown that capped a remarkable night in the Pioneers' remarkable season.
"We are so close, we're like brothers," Moore said of this upstart bunch that will forever be in the East Ridge record books. "It's been something we didn't talk about really, but we all wanted and worked for."
The same could be said for the upstart Chargers (7-3, 3-2 Region 3-3A), who are headed for the state playoffs but were uncertain of their seeding immediately after the game.
CCS was down 14-13 midway through the fourth quarter and needed an impact play when Moore's third touchdown run and Deondre Chambliss' 56-yard interception return settled the matter.
"This was as exciting an environment I've been a part of as a coach, considering what this means for the kids and the program," said CCS coach Rob Spence, who has been a major college assistant at places such as Clemson. "It's the same sensation as going to Clemson or playing in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
"We just needed to make a few more plays physically, but that's not to discredit East Ridge, because they have a great football team that played very hard."
CCS got its one touchdown on a 78-yard kick return from T.J. Smith after Moore's first scoring run. Will Patton's two field goals accounted for the rest of the Chargers' scoring, but a willful CCS defense kept the game close.
Big plays that displayed the big stakes were balanced by big miscues that revealed the big pressure in the moment.
It affected both sides, and while each team wanted it, one team had Moore.
"We knew he was going to be hard to handle," Spence said, "but the last 10 weeks have been amazing for our program and our kids."
It's a sentiment each coach had coming into Friday night, and one that each will carry through into next week's playoffs.