Signal Mountain’s Nathan Johnson (4) sprints downfield towards his opponents during a football game between Signal Mountain and Sequatchie County at Signal Mountain High School in Signal Mountain, Tenn., on Thursday, October 30, 2014.Pedal to the metal
These days on Signal Mountain, the catchphrase seems to be “The few, the strong, the Eagles.”
Four hours per day, five days per week, almost since school was out in June took a toll on Signal Mountain and Ty Wise.
The Eagles’ new coach and successor to Bill Price, Wise didn’t dodge the truth or offer excuses.
“We’ve got 38 (players),” he said at the Region 3-3A media day. “We started with 51, but four hours a day didn’t go really well with some of the guys. The 38 I’ve got are committed and have bought in.”
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SIGNAL MOUNTAIN EAGLESRegion 3-3A2650 Sam Powell Trail, Signal Mountain, TN 37377Driver’s seat: Ty Wise (first year here, 9-12 overall)Road tested: 4 offensive, 3 defensive starters return
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Pump the brakes: The Eagles lost numerous stars, including OT Harrison Moon, LBs Chris Moore and Tadarrius Hodge and RBs Kaleb Menzel, Hunter VanDyken and Skye Wilson, with the latter transferring to Ridgeland.
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Route ’15: The Eagles are in a new region, but it still includes Notre Dame, which bested the Eagles for last year’s District 7-AA championship. Add to that a nonregion schedule that includes East Hamilton, Ooltewah, Tyner and Cleveland, and Signal has a very tough row to hoe.
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Taking the wheel: The QB chores weren’t going to be decided until this week. Tom Vatter was the only one who participated in the entire spring. Also at QB are Corey DeHart, who moved over from receiver, and Drew Lowery, a transfer from Texas. The Eagles are high on RBs Nathan Johnson, Garrett Hensley, Cole Johnson and Travion Williams. Several Eagles will play on both sides of the ball.
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Cruise control: Johnson, a junior, is making the move from OG to FB and also will play along the defensive line. The experienced offensive line will average better than 260 pounds, including TaDarrell Hodge, Jared Menzel and Colton Miller.
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Backseat driver: An opposing coach said of the Eagles, “Numbers will hurt them, especially against the bigger schools early. Even with all the training and conditioning, those guys going both ways are going to wear down.”
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Rearview2014 resultsAug. 22;East Hamilton;won, 28-19Aug. 29;Tyner;won, 35-0Sep. 5;Bledsoe County;won, 56-0Sep. 12;Red Bank;won, 49-13Sep. 19;Grundy County;won, 70-14Sep. 26;Bradley Central;won, 27-7Oct. 3;Notre Dame;lost, 35-3Oct. 17;Chattanooga Christian;won, 49-14Oct. 24;Greeneville;lost, 31-10Oct. 30;Sequatchie County;won, 58-3Nov. 7;DeKalb County;won, 49-10 (first-round playoffs)Nov. 14;Loudon;lost, 37-21 (second-round playoffs)9-3, 4-1 in District 7-AA
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On the horizon2015 schedule (times 7:30 unless noted)Aug. 21;East Hamilton, 7Aug. 28;OoltewahSep. 4;at East Ridge, 7Sep. 11;TynerSep. 18;Chattanooga Christian, 7Sep. 25;at ClevelandOct. 2;at Red Bank, 7Oct. 16;Notre Dame, 7Oct. 23;at Giles CountyOct. 30;at Howard, 7Region 3-3A games in bold
It was, the coach said, an aberration if somebody wasn’t puking into a trash can during the workouts.
One of the 38 who bought in and stayed on was senior Nathan Johnson, a running back who has gone from a size small in a shirt to a large.
“Muscle-wise, I’ve probably put on 5 to 10 pounds, but all my weight drastically changed and I’m faster,” he said. “Everybody on the team adjusted pretty quickly (to Wise), and those that stayed, once they adjusted, got stronger. All 38 have been through everything, and the weakest player has been through as much as the strongest.”
The last time he was clocked in the 40-yard dash, the time was 4.5 seconds. With the untimely transfer of Skye Wilson to Ridgeland, Johnson could be the Eagles’ primary running back.
“I don’t like to say feature back. We have a variety of backs,” he said, specifically mentioning Garrett Hensley, Charlie Gauthier and Cole Johnson. “I feel like we’re all feature backs.”
Capsule by Ward Gossett; contact at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or follow on Twitter: @wardgossett.