The defensive struggle and the bumpy field were expected in Thursday night's District 5A championship, but the slick field was a surprise for both teams especially on such a beautiful sunny evening.
Jack Poss scored in the 46th minute to give Signal Mountain the 1-0 victory and the district title
CSAS senior captain defender Antonio Hatch summed it up best, "The surprise downpour in the afternoon made the ball a lot harder to control."
It wasn't only the ball.
Several players were seen sliding across the field at several points in the game. Coach Richard Northcutt knew and his "plan was to play over the top since the field conditions were tough."
In the 4th minute Signal started the scoring chances with what looked like it would be a one on one against the CSAS goalie but a CSAS defender streaked across after the shot and cleared the line. CSAS's best first half chance came in the 38th minute with a shot from 10 meters out that was pushed wide by a diving Signal goalie.
The second half began 0-0 but the double shutout was broken in the 46th minute when Poss knocked down a throw in in the box and scored. Ironically, Poss scored the winning goal against his uncle, David Poss, who is the CSAS head coach.
Although CSAS threw themselves into trying to equalize, all their chances were wide, high, or thwarted by a strong Signal defense. Senior center defender and captain Max Gray said in a tired but satisfied way after the game, "We played hard as a team, hustled, and won in the end."
With the win Signal earned the right to host Fayetteville on Tuesday and CSAS will travel to District 6A champion Cascade in the Region 3 semifinals. If both win they will meet for a third defensive struggle Thursday, this time on the mountain.
Coach Poss wrapped it up after the game saying, "I am hopefully looking forward to a rematch as they were in this game after our regular season battle. They did a great job adjusting and correcting from the last game. If it had to happen, at least it was my nephew."