Region 3-3A's postseason picture was set going into the final week of the regular season.
Signal Mountain didn't see that as any reason to let up on its way to the state playoffs, striking quickly and scoring often Friday night in a 42-0 home win against Sweetwater.
The Eagles - who finished second in the region with a 4-1 league record and will host in the first round of the Class 3A bracket next week - are 6-4 in coach Josh Roberts' second season after going 4-7 last year and 2-8 in 2016.
"We've talked about this since the day I got here, about culture and doing things the right way," Roberts said. "We play to our standards, and we don't play to anybody else's. And ours are so high, we probably won't reach it anyway. But we came out tonight, and I said I'll know a lot about my team after tonight.
"We came out and played the way we were supposed to."
After forcing the Wildcats (2-8, 1-4) to go three-and-out on their first possession, the Eagles took only two plays to put points on the board. Quarterback Drew Lowry connected with Treveon Williams for a 42-yard pass that set up Terrance Russell's 9-yard touchdown run.
Lowry added the next touchdown for Signal Mountain with a 3-yard run, and the Eagles extended their lead shortly after that when Lowry connected with Malone Howley for a 90-yard touchdown pass.
The Eagles' defense capped the first-quarter scoring when Dalton Cunningham picked off a Sweetwater pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.
Lowry connected with Howe again for a 41-yard pass for the lone touchdown in the second quarter, and the Eagles led 35-0 at halftime.
With the mercy rule leading to a running clock in the second half, the Eagles found time to score a final touchdown. Junior quarterback Jack Wilson hooked up with Jarren Radden for a 45-yard score with 4:30 to go in the third quarter.
Roberts said his team will continue to work on the basics entering the postseason.
"We have to keep doing the fundamentals right," he said. "We've gotten better at that, and it's showing on the field. We are who we are now, and we are going to come out and play."
Contact Brett King at sports@timesfreepress.com.