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Signal Mountain football team perseveres with chemistry, unity

Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / Signal Mountain fullback Eli Walker (15) finds room to run against Hixson in a TSSSAA Region 3-4A game and the regular-season finale for both teams last Thursday. Walker is among the key players who have missed time this season for the Eagles, who still made the playoffs as the region's No. 4 seed.
Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / Signal Mountain fullback Eli Walker (15) finds room to run against Hixson in a TSSSAA Region 3-4A game and the regular-season finale for both teams last Thursday. Walker is among the key players who have missed time this season for the Eagles, who still made the playoffs as the region's No. 4 seed. Staff file photo by Robin Rudd / Signal Mountain fullback Eli Walker (15) finds room to run against Hixson in a TSSSAA Region 3-4A game and the regular-season finale for both teams last Thursday. Walker is among the key players who have missed time this season for the Eagles, who still made the playoffs as the region's No. 4 seed.

By Jay Greeson 4 min read

The path to the postseason is never easy.

And for Signal Mountain football coach Mark Mariakis and the Eagles, the journey to a second consecutive playoff appearance was especially painful.

Quite literally.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Mariakis, a 41-year coaching veteran who took over at Signal Mountain ahead of the 2024 season, which the Eagles finished 6-5 with a first-round loss in the TSSAA Class 4A bracket. “These young men have worked through it all to make our staff, our school and our community proud.”

The battered Eagles (4-6), who will visit Region 4-4A champion Upperman (8-2) in the first round at 8 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, have had their full 41-player roster for exactly one game this year: the season-opening shutout of Central.