Signal streaks past Tornado in jamboree, 10-7

photo Signal Mountain's Hunter VanDyken (23) scores the winning touchdown against McCallie School during the jamboree at Finley Stadium Friday.

If he hadn't seen it, McCallie School football coach Ralph Potter might never have believed it.

"They've got to go 50 yards in 30 seconds and their guy runs right past our defensive back," Potter said.

That guy, Hunter VanDyken, was on the receiving end of a Jack Teter pass and took it 37 yards for the winning touchdown in Signal Mountain's 10-7 victory over the Blue Tornado in the Best of Preps high school football jamboree.

"I knew it was a touchdown when I heard the play called," said Teter, who also had a 38-yard connection across the middle. "Hunter's a good receiver and a good runner with good eyes."

The Eagles might have been playing for a tie if not for the leg of German import Josh Patta, a soccer player who's in his first year of football. Patta missed a field-goal try on the Eagles' first possession but toed home a 38-yarder midway of the 20-minute scrimmage.

McCallie showed brief flashes of quality play, including a 29-yard TD pass from JaVaughn Craig to Tyler Payne, but it wasn't nearly enough to please Potter.

"That's the way we practiced all week," Potter said. "We can't snap the ball; we can't take care of the ball; we lost our focus; we don't pass-protect well; we allowed a deep ball to get thrown on us. Other than that we did all right."

After a lengthy and sloppy scrimmage at Ridgeland on Thursday, Signal coach Bill Price was pleased.

"We're not a fancy football team, but our kids play hard, and our goal is to get better every time out. I thought tonight we got better," he said. "But this is a scrimmage, and we're really worrying about East Hamilton next week."

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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