Needing a fast start and a few breaks, the Red Bank Lions got neither Friday night at Signal Mountain.
Signal Mountain sophomore Garland Wood returned the opening kickoff 78 yards. Three plays and 12 yards later, Signal took a quick lead to springboard to a 49-13 win over the Lions.
"I thought the first quarter, we played really good," Signal coach and Red Bank alumnus Bill Price said. "Garland's just a 10th-grader, but he's got good speed.
"We have a lot of weapons."
Yes, the Eagles are stocked with star power, highlighted by the impressive skills of Skye Wilson. Wilson scored three times before the crowd had filled up on Cokes and candy -- two runs sandwiching a 54-yard catch-and-run on a perfect pass from senior quarterback Jack Teter -- and the Eagles had a 21-0 lead less than six minutes into the first quarter.
Wilson finished with five touchdowns -- three running, two receiving -- and 124 total yards on eight touches, and Kaleb Menzel and John Ryan Wilson also scored touchdowns for the Eagles.
"Skye's really good, but we can throw the ball, too," Price said of Teter, who was 5-of-7 for 109 yards and three TDs and had another potential score dropped. "Plus, Jack's really running the offense right now."
For the Red Bank faithful, the quick start had the makings of last year's 63-0 whitewash, but the Lions refused to let the early landslide derail their spirit.
"I love the fight in my guys," first-year Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski said. "We have to continue to battle againt good teams and we can't have those first-half mistakes.
"We did a better job in the second half, and we have to build off this and get better."
Grabowski's Lions were pinned deep continually early. Signal's average starting position on its first four drives was the Red Bank 35; Red Bank started its first four possessions at its 20 and trailed 28-0.
Still, the Lions rotated quarterbacks, using the various skill sets of Caleb Tate, Malik Davis and Brett Perry among others and tried to maximize Ben Brown's touches whenever possible. Brown turned a bubble screen into a 33-yard touchdown, and Davis got a long strike from Perry for a 73-yard score in the final minute.
Red Bank (2-2) is at Central next week. Signal (4-0) is at Grundy County.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.