WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsStunning loss sparks Pirates' run at school history

SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. (WRCB) -- Karrell Hutchins can still feel South Pittsburg's 29-point drubbing at the hands of Signal Mountain.

The senior linebacker was one of several players shaken up in a 65-36 blowout loss that proved to be one of the most lopsided in the program's rich history.

"Man, I remember the game. That was probably the most physical game I've ever played in," Hutchins recalled Wednesday.

Thing is, the cuts, bruises and sprains from that loss aren't what the Pirates remember the most.

Head coach Vic Grider refused to speak to his team at the end of the contest, choosing instead head straight for a lonely seat on the team bus while his players packed up their gear.

"I've had that happen several times where I know the best thing for me to do is get on the bus and go home because you'll end up saying something you regret."

Added Hutchins: "The bus ride home was silent. Real silent."

Grider took the weekend to collect his thoughts before addressing the team before the following Monday's practice.

"He gave us an earful," said running back Demetric Johnson.

The words were tough to hear, and they were critical. But they also came with a purpose for the team moving forward.

"I knew the teams we had left on our schedule after that," Grider said. "My main concern was how is my team going to respond. Are we going to tuck tail and run and go into a shell, or are we going to come back and make this right.

"I think we all know the answer to that now."

Indeed, the Pirates have left little doubt in winning eight of their last nine games following that visit to Signal Mountain. Their only defeat was a 3-0 overtime setback at Class 2A powerhouse Knoxville Grace, who finished the season undefeated but was ineligible for the playoffs because of past recruiting violations.

South Pittsburg toppled playoff participants Boyd-Buchanan and Polk County then blasted 6A-foe Franklin County before the end of the regular season. The remarkable run continued in the postseason with a home rout of Grace Academy, then three straight road wins over state-ranked hosts Greenback, Coalfield and Gordonsville.

"After (the Signal Mountain) game knew we had to get focused and get ready and get better," said receiver Antonio Chubb. "We've never had to travel like that in the playoffs, but I have confidence in my team and we got it done."

There aren't many achievements left the program has yet to reach, but the late-season surge has the defending Class 1A champs on the verge of an elusive feat.

"We wanted to come back and win back-to-back. We'd be the first South Pittsburg team to do it," said Hutchins. "That would mean a lot. I could brag to my uncle and my brother that I won two states and they didn't."

Friday's title-game tilt with undefeated Wayne County is all that stands in the way of those bragging rights.

A win would be a third ring in five years for the Pirates, and make them the first 1A team in 13 years to win two straight titles.

It would also provide another memorable bus ride back to Marion County... for the right reasons.

"It was the first goal our seniors set in spring practice in May. They wanted to go back-to-back," Grider said. "I'm just proud of how this team has gone about their business, and done the things necessary to get us back to this point and give us a chance."