Tom Vatter had a miserable weekend.
Despite the fact he produced more than 300 yards of offense, Signal Mountain's quarterback agonized over last Friday's outcome.
It was the first game of his senior season and the last time he'd play against East Hamilton, which has become something of a rival despite being a classification higher than the 3A Eagles. And Signal Mountain lost 36-31.
"I felt like I could've made some plays that I didn't see, especially after watching the film. I saw some plays I could've made, and it hurt the whole weekend," he said. "I missed seeing a couple of things that would've won the game."
This feeling was different than what Vatter had felt the two previous seasons, when the Eagles won just three of 20 games.
He didn't feel after practice, though, that he'd been ground down and crushed into the dirt or that he was ready to throw in the towel as he had earlier in his career.
"In those (previous) years the attitude was dwelling on the mistakes, talking about them over and over," he recalled. "Monday was different. The attitude (from the coaches) was, 'We did this wrong but we did make these plays and we need to learn from the mistakes we made.'"
Despite the temptation in the past, quitting just wasn't in Vatter's makeup. An aspiring college prospect, he had goals, plus he was just way too stubborn and way too competitive.
"I couldn't leave. I felt obligated to stay here and work my tail off: 'Here I am. I don't want to transfer and sit out a year. I'm going to be here and be the best quarterback I can be for the situation I have,'" he said, recalling thoughts he'd had the previous two seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, a likely December graduate who has a scholarship offer or two already, has moved from a wing-T to a more wide-open offense, one more suited to his skills. He was 20-of-34 with one interception and 246 passing yards and added 60 rushing yards last week.
"He made throws last week you just don't see high school quarterbacks making - rolling left, throwing across his body and delivering a 25-yard line drive that hits the receiver right in the chest," new coach Josh Roberts said of Vatter's performance. "The only thing we've really done is work on some small mechanical things."
That, and the installation of that new offense.
"He always wants more input, but he's also becoming a man," Roberts said. "He's grown from when I felt met him, not only as a football player but as a person. He's a high-character kid, and as a football player he's tough as nails. He has a linebacker mentality, and he goes 100 miles an hour all the time."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter @ wardgossett.