SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – For the last five years South Pittsburg’s Pirates find themselves approaching a game that has high school football fans throughout all reaches of the Chattanooga curiously awaiting. Friday’s game betweek the No. 1-ranked Class 1A Pirates (3-0) and Signal Mountain’s No. 2-ranked Class 2A Eagles (4-0) at South Pittsburg’s Beene Stadium may have all the others trumped.
Four days ago football coach Vic Grider walked into his assistant principal office at South Pittsburg to get the work week started when he quickly discovered it had already been started it for him. Representatives from the three local television news teams and a Chattanooga radio station had already left messages.
“When I got to work Monday I already had some media requests,” Grider said. “The TV stations were wanting to come to practice. The radio station was asking for space in the press box. If I didn’t already, I knew then this was going to be a big deal.”
South Pittsburg’s program has ended up in at least a game of similar magnitude each of the previous four seasons, and that’s not counting state-playoff games or the Pirates’ yearly showdown with neighboring archrival Marion County. They’re hoping the experience of dealing with hype, coupled with a demonstrative home crowd, will work to their advantage.
Here’s a look back at other recent South Pittsburg games where the Pirates faced week-long buildups:
Oct. 13, 2006, Tennessee Temple 53, South Pittsburg 20: Much like its opponent this time – Signal Mountain (4-0) is in its second varsity season after having played junior varsity football only when it opened in 2008 – South Pittsburg was facing relative newcomer then and now defunct Tennessee Temple at Finley Stadium.
The Pirates came into the game 7-0 and had recorded four shutouts. The Crusaders, who the previous week had cracked The Associated Press Top-10 rankings for the first time, were 4-0 and averaging 40 points per game.
“South Pittsburg was kind of the measuring stick in single-A in our area,” said Temple coach Kevin Skogen, now a minister at Sandhills Presbyterian Church in Southern Pines, N.C. “They’re very well-coached. They’ve got great athletes. The year before they beat us, but I thought we did some pretty good things. The question became ‘OK, can we play with them?’ We had some good athletes that year and we ended up beating them.”
Skogen said his team’s preparation for the game began in summer camp. The Crusaders put in a kickoff return they never used until the teams played that week and it worked when Kameron Ridley scored their first touchdown after the Pirates had scored first and then kicked off.
“They were kind of the upstart program that had never really tasted a lot of success,” Grider said. “As a coaching staff, not being able to put a gauge on them made it difficult. I know as a football team we learned a very valuable lesson. That game propelled us to the state championship the next year.”
Sept. 28, 2007, South Pittsburg 25, Tyner 21: The Pirates, 4-0 coming in, ended up being held to their lowest point total of their unbeaten 15-game season. For the Rams, it was a little more than just another opponent on their usual rugged nondistrict schedule.
“It was probably everybody’s game of the week – the paper, TV and what not” Tyner coach Wayne Turner said. “It was a big deal for the kids. There’s not a high school athlete out there that doesn’t like it when they know everybody has a chance to get interviewed. You don’t always get that kind of publicity.”
The Rams never led, but were never out of it.
“That was as built up a game as I’ve ever been a part of,” Grider said. “Everybody wanted to see those groups of athletes get on the field at the same time. I remember the excitement around here. Walking on the way up to the field you could feel the tension on both sides. Those two teams were ready to go at it.”
Oct. 10, 2008, South Pittsburg 7, Boyd-Buchanan 6: South Pittsburg (6-0) was riding high, having scored 48 or more points five times. The Buccaneers (6-0) didn’t have the gaudy numbers but did have a victory over customary larger-school power Red Bank.
Boyd-Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds recalled it being a “playoff atmosphere” around school that week and it lived up to the billing.
“I remember being so concerned if our kids would be ready to play because the year before we had handled them pretty good,” Grider said. “That doesn’t happen to Boyd. We pretty much had the same team. They pretty much had the same team. Nobody has our respect more than Boyd-Buchanan. They do things right, they’re coached well and they play hard.”
Despite the loss the Bucs’ defense was the story on the night.
“Everytime we play those guys, their coaching staff in particular makes us better,” Reynolds said. “They show us our weaknesses.”
Oct. 23, 2009, Polk County 34, South Pittsburg 28: The Bucs got a measure of payback 20-12 on Oct. 9, which was the Pirates’ only blemish through eight games. The Wildcats, who had not been on South Pittsburg’s schedule since 1992, were 8-0 and working on three consecutive shutouts.
Polk County coach Derrick Davis recalled having a sinus infection that week that caused him to miss Tuesday and Wednesday at school – but not practice.
“The thing that sticks out in my mind more than anything about that week was doing more interviews, more TV people were wanting interviews, and more people were asking for tickets,” Davis said. “People in the community wanted to talk about the game, but I tried to kind of shy away from it. It took so much just trying to stay focused.”
Polk got out to a 28-0 lead, then managed to hold on.
“I don’t think the people here – the team included – gave Polk the respect they needed,” Grider said. “Even though we lost, and I hate to lose, I felt real good about our team. Even though we got behind, we didn’t hit the panic button and kept fighting.”
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6653.