WHITWELL, Tenn. – At the site where its junior varsity program began two years ago, Signal Mountain capped a perfect-10 of a football season Friday night.
The Eagles, ranked second in Class 2A, obliterated outmanned District 6-A foe Whitwell 75-0, moving to 10-0 with a first-round playoff bye upcoming.
“We finished up the right way tonight,” Eagles coach Bill Price said. “This was a big win for us, just for finishing up the season undefeated. We had a lot of kids step up and make plays for us, and now we’ll get ready for the second season with the playoffs.”
It was the ninth time the Eagles won by the mercy rule. They beat their four district opponents by an average of 40 points.
Donnie Garner returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, and after scoring three times in the first quarter, Signal Mountain scored two touchdowns in a 15-second span early in the second, then added three TDs in the span of 1:46 just before halftime.
Reese Phillips caught a TD pass from Hogan Whitmire and returned two punts for scores in the first half. Despite having just 21 offensive plays in the first half, the Eagles scored nine touchdowns as Gervell Morgan also returned a fumble 15 yards for a score.
“I had great blocks on those returns, so they were actually pretty easy,” Phillips said. “It’s good that we’ll have a week off now to get rested and some guys healed up and ready to go for the playoffs.”
Signal Mountain held Whiwell to 174 yards of total offense, and the Tigers (1-9) turned the ball over five times. The Eagles rolled up more than 400 yards of offense, including 324 on the ground, with nine runners averaging 12.5 yards per carry.
Garner made the most of his three carries, scoring twice and finishing with a team-leading 86 yards. Whitmire, who led the state in passing coming into the season finale, threw just nine times, finishing with 79 yards and two TDs.