Just moments after Signal Mountain’s team buses drop off Interstate 24 at the South Pittsburg exit tonight, the Eagles will begin to find out what big-time small-town football is really about.
Before the bells toll midnight, they’ll find out if they are close to being there.
“South Pittsburg definitely can be a state champion, and I think we could be if we continue to work hard,” Signal Mountain receiver and defensive back Will Queen said.
The Eagles have lost just one road game in their brief history – a second-round playoff game last year at Cascade. The only home loss was last year to South Pittsburg.
“South Pittsburg is a program that has done it right for a long time,” Signal coach Bill Price said. “They have an environment that you won’t see anywhere in the state. A lot of 5A and 6A teams don’t have it. It’s what we’d like to have at Signal Mountain. We’re not there yet. It’s something that South Pittsburg has developed over the years.”
As the second-ranked Class 2A Eagles cruise through town toward Beene Field, home of South Pittsburg’s No. 1 Class 1A Pirates, they may notice the black-and-orange Pirates pennants hanging from every lamppost. They may glimpse the signs of support displayed in almost every shop window – many of them made by the shop owners themselves.
The pennants are put up by city crews during jamboree week and don’t come down until South Pittsburg’s football season ends. Some of the signs in the shops stay up all week. Some of the stores close at noon, and many of the Pirates fans work a half-day on Friday to get ready for big games.
“I think some of the guys know what we’re stepping into,” Signal Mountain running back and linebacker Donnie Garner said. “I’ve never played there, but several of us have heard how intense it is from other people who have played there. [That kind of] intensity gets you more hyped. But everybody is already excited because of last year and what could happen this year. I believe there could be two [future] state champions playing on that field tomorrow night.”
“We’re playing for a district championship in a huge game against a team that has all that tradition,” Price said.
This big game includes more than bragging rights and a potential district title.
“This is the biggest game Signal Mountain has played to this point,” Queen said. “It might be comparable to last year’s game at Cascade, but I think we’re a better team than the one at Cascade. To me this game is huge – not for getting into the playoffs but for momentum.”
Most coaches feel they and their teams are handicapped playing at South Pittsburg.
“The crowd gets into it; the music is loud. The whole town comes out to support them,” Boyd-Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds said. “Any time you have a home crowd like that behind you, your kids are going to play for that.”
When the Eagles step out of the visitors’ locker room tonight, they’re likely to be assailed by a talented pack of tormentors who have studied their roster and memorized names and numbers. When they step on the field for warm-ups, they’re going to get blasted by South Pittsburg football’s soul music, a thumping mixture of sanitized rap and heavy metal.
“I expect it to be loud and intense and exciting, and without a doubt I am pumped about playing before 10,000 people,” Eagles defensive tackle Drew Chambers said.
Central High coach Sam Montgomery played at Copper Basin and has coached at Marion County, Grundy County, Whitwell and Boyd-Buchanan. Those teams have had their share of moments at South Pittsburg.
“It’s the most hostile environment you’re going to have to play in anywhere,” Montgomery said. “When you go, you don’t just play the team and the coaches. You play the town and the community – everybody who lives there or has lived there and comes back for games. When you come out of that locker room and have all those people yelling at you, your mind isn’t on the game. You’re thinking more about just getting to the field. We always felt if you can go in there and win, you can win anywhere in the state.”
Price has been there. He brought Lookout Valley teams to South Pittsburg to play teams coached by the late Don Grider, current Pirates coach Vic Grider’s father. At other coaching stops such as Soddy-Daisy and Coffee County, Price always made it a practice to scrimmage the Pirates in the spring or late summer.
“I think South Pittsburg is where every program in the state wants to be,” Price said.
He has not told his team about the kind of environment they’re stepping into, however. Price believes that his players knowing a district championship is probably on the line and that they will have to win it on the road is enough.
“The kids don’t know and haven’t asked, and I don’t intend to address [the playing environment] beforehand,” he said. “This is a big game. It’s the biggest game in the state this week so, yeah, it’s probably the biggest game we’ve had. Our approach, our schedule for this game will be the same as it was for games at Hixson and East Hamilton.
“This will be a great atmosphere, and I guarantee we’re going to have a lot of folks there too, but this is the kind of game you play and coach for.”
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or (423) 886-4765.