The numbers did not add up for Signal Mountain in a decisive first quarter of the Eagles' 37-6 Region 3-3A loss Friday night at Notre Dame's Eberle Field.
In the opening 12 minutes, Notre Dame had more touchdowns (three) than first downs (two); Signal had the same number of each category - zero.
"Man, what a great start to be up 20-0 at the end of the first quarter like that," Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said.
Fant could not overstate the quickness of his team's first strike.
Andrew Banks handled the opening kickoff at his 14 and made three quick cuts and covered 86 yards in 15 seconds to give the Irish (6-2, 4-0) the lead for good.
"I made one move and heard my boy Cameron Wynn yell to make the cut," Banks said of the Mike Tyson-esque knockout-blow return. "After I made that last move, it was wide open."
The eye-twitch-quick senior was far from finished. On Notre Dame's next possession, he raced 40 yards for another TD, and late in the second quarter he broke free and appeared to be headed for another long score before being pulled down from behind by Signal sophomore Travion Williams.
In the first half, Banks had six touches for 200 total yards, including the kickoff return. The Signal offense ran 25 first-half plays and managed 73 yards.
"We had our best week of practice this week and got some rest (after last week's bye)," Banks said.
Signal (2-6, 1-3) has been ravaged by injury this season, a fact that is doubly painful for a short roster with fewer than 30 in uniform Friday. And as detrimental as the Irish's lightning-fast start was Friday, the fact that Signal contributors Isaac Green and Campbell Garner were hurt early made matters even more challenging.
"That's the last thing we needed, to lose a couple more warriors, especially early in the game," Signal coach Ty Wise said. "I was proud with the way our team kept fighting and playing to the end. And I really think our defense played a lot better than the score would indicate."
Wise's point is fair. Notre Dame managed just six first downs and had fewer than 300 yards of offense, and freshman corner Terrance Russell had two pickoffs to deny the Irish in the first half. But a couple of big plays on offense - Banks' highlights, an 18-yard swing pass from Wynn to Justyn Baker to create that first-quarter hurdle and a bruising 6-yard run from Akil Sledge - and a complete domination of special teams carried the Irish to the runaway.
Notre Dame got the big kickoff return to start and Daniel Anderson returned a blocked punt 8 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. In fact, after Signal dented the scoreboard with a late pass from quarterback Tom Vatter to Williams, Anderson blocked the extra point.
"We work on our special teams every day and spend a lot of time on that," Fant said. "We know that can be the difference in a ballgame."
It certainly started the ball rolling for Fant and Co. Friday night.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and 423-757-6343.