The Eagles’s James McClean bulls forward for yardage as South Pittsburg’s Payne Mosley makes the hit.
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – In a battle of big plays and offensive fireworks, a defensive stand helped Signal Mountain claim a wild 55-54 nondistrict football victory over South Pittsburg on Friday.
The teams combined for 1,021 yards and 16 touchdowns, but it was Eagles sophomore Cale Shelton shooting through the line and stopping South Pittsburg’s Jajuan Lankford for a loss on a two-point-conversion attempt with 4:05 remaining to preserve the win. Signal Mountain then held the ball for the next eight plays, converting a third down and a fourth down into firsts to drain the clock.
Signal Mountain converted eight of 10 fourth downs and ran 93 total plays for 537 yards. South Pittsburg ran 28 total plays for 484 yards, all but 37 coming on the ground. While neither team could stop the other for most of the game, their styles were in stark contrast as Signal Mountain averaged 4.4 yards per rush and had scoring drives of 15, 13, and 11 plays, while South Pittsburg averaged. 20.3 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns of 30-plus yards.
“That was just a great ballgame,” Eagles coach Bill Price said. “Whoever had the ball last was going to win. We made a big stop when we had to.
“We’re getting there offensively. We’re starting to look like Signal Mountain should.”