The RePublic boys' soccer team had to deal with a couple of storms Sunday.
As if a two-hour weather delay wasn't enough for the third-year Nashville high school, there was also the on-field wave of Signal Mountain players and goals coming at them throughout their TSSAA Class A state sectional.
The host Eagles won 6-0 to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2014.
The tourney starts Tuesday at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro, where Signal Mountain (13-6-3) will face Alcoa (14-5) in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. EDT.
When the match was halted with about seven minutes to go in the first half because of inclement weather, the Eagles were already up 3-0 on goals by Cadyn Huddleston, George Coogan - back from injury for the first time this season - and Jimmy Johnson, who scored off a Coogan shot that glanced off a goalpost.
Once play resumed, so did the scoring - for the Eagles, at least. Max Burk scored off a corner kick, then Krider Cook and Remy Newton added goals before the finish.
Joseph Nemec and Josh Pickett combined for the win in goal, with each stopping one shot.
RePublic keeper Reese Garcia was credited with 10 saves.
Signal Mountain coach Richard Northcutt praised the depth his team utilized throughout the match. The Eagles subbed in six players - forwards and midfielders - every 10 minutes in the second half, allowing them to play fresh and attack throughout.
"In the first half, the field was dry. We were able to pass and keep the ball," Northcutt said. "After the rain, it was chaos, but we're not bad at chaos. It was run-and-gun and chuck it at the rim and keep running."
Northcutt said there was no time to enjoy the moment, aside from a "State!" chant as the Eagles were about to leave the field. Having their next match in less than 48 hours all but prevented that.
"That was their moment," Northcutt said of the brief huddle. "We've had some good teams, but we weren't able to get over this hump. You never know when you get to state, because you've never seen the people, so you show up and prepare for the best."
» Arts & Sciences 3, Merrol Hyde 1: James Badger, Will Frazier and Rohit Krishnamoorthy scored to lead CSAS (12-6-2) to a sectional win that allows them to join Signal in the Class A state tournament.
The fifth-ranked Patriots - headed to state for the first time in 12 years - will face Columbia Academy (11-5-1) at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
"We played like we had played in a lot of games. We controlled the ball," CSAS coach David Poss said. "We had a hard time scoring goals, but I knew after that first goal that was what we needed."
CSAS goalkeeper Fisher Latham made eight saves.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.