By Noah Dalton
ELLETTSVILLE — Friday night marked the beginning of a new season for Mitchell High School, with the team once again kicking things off with a matchup against Edgewood.
Coming off a disappointing previous season, which saw the Bluejackets finish with a record of 1-9, the team looked to bounce back in a big way and kick off the season in the win column. With only a few seniors from last year’s squad having departed, the bulk of their youthful roster returned for another campaign, this time with a full season of experience under their belt, which for much of the squad included their first snaps at the varsity level.
Though the youthful Mitchell team showed signs of what the future could hold, they were ultimately handled by the Mustangs, 38-0.
Edgewood found much of their success on the ground, and they got started early doing so, with running back Braxton Carpenter scoring two early touchdowns in the first quarter. Carpenter was the star of the show for the Mustangs, going on to rush for 189 yards on the evening.
Edgewood’s offense pressed on, scoring another touchdown in the second quarter, this time via a 21-yard pass from quarterback Braylon Linerode that found Reece Robert’s in the end zone.
They went in to halftime leading 24-0 and did not look back, on their way to a running clock after two more third-quarter TDs pushed them past the 35-point threshold.
On Mitchell’s side many drives looked the same, with a big play to gain a first down early on, before a set-back of some kind halted their progress and reverted possession back to the Mustangs.
“There were definitely spurts. I mean, there were spurts where we looked good, and then there were spurts where we reverted to last year and we have three, four good plays, and then we shoot ourselves in the foot. Those are the things that kill drives,” said Bluejackets’ second-year head coach Zach See.
“Ultimately, you stack them on top of one another and another and another, and then your opponent, they’re just gaining confidence each time. So, we’ve just got to be a more consistent team.”
Perhaps the most glaring of bright-spots for Mitchell was the team winning the turnover battle 6-3, all of which were fumbles. Though they weren’t able to capitalize on the additional possessions, it showed See the potential of the team’s defense, though they still have work to do.
“We flew around defensively. We’ve got to be stronger. We’ve got to hold our ground up front, keep our linebackers clean, and allow them to make plays,” See said were areas he’s looking to see the team improve on going forward.
Offensively, Mitchell found their most success running the ball, with back Kaden Mullis racking up 58 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Cam Gilstrap had four completions for 41 yards, including a 40-yard completion to Sven Lutchka near the end of the first half that brought the team within five yards of the goal line, before a turnover on downs ended the drive.
As the Bluejackets gear up for their first game of Patoka Lake Athletic Conference play next Friday against Springs Valley, See will look towards his team to improve their physicality and consistency to avoid a similar outcome to last year’s matchup against the Blackhawks, which Mitchell lost 75-12.
“We’ve got to come to work on Monday because obviously Springs Valley is a very good team, very good program, and we’re going to have to be focused all week, and we’re going to have to be consistent because a team like that, they’re going to capitalize on things like what happened tonight,” said See.
The game will also be the Bluejackets’ home opener, something See hopes will give his team an additional boost.
“Anytime you play in front of your home crowd, it should give you a big boost. I know the community will show up, and they’ll be there for us and we need to put on a good show for them,” said See.
”We need to come ready to play and match their physicality, match their intensity, and we’ll be okay.”
