MITCHELL — With both teams seeking their first win of the season after suffering three straight losses, Mitchell High School played host to Eastern Greene on Friday.
A big component of the early-season issues for both teams had been offensive struggles heading into the game, with the Thunderbirds scoring just 20 points through their first three games and the Bluejackets scoring only six in the same timeframe.
The two teams also struggled on the other side of the ball, with Mitchell allowing an average of 47 points per game, and Eastern Greene giving up an astounding 62 points per game through their first three.
Fortunes had to at least somewhat change for one squad by the end of the night and, unfortunately for the Bluejackets, it was the Thunderbirds who managed to add their first tally to the win column after picking up a 14-0 victory.
The game ended with a shutout score, but it wasn’t without close calls around the end zone for Mitchell, who were able to drive deep into Eastern Greene territory multiple times, but left empty handed in each instance.
Often times, those drives were ended by fumbles forced and recovered by the Thunderbirds, which happened three times on the night, each time while the Bluejackets were in the redzone threatening to score.
“Yeah, we just didn’t take care of the ball. We got down inside the [10-yard line] three times and didn’t score any of the three times because of fumbles,” said Mitchell head coach Zach See. “We’ve got to keep the ball tucked high and tight and continue to drive up front.”
Turnovers aside, it was perhaps the best showing thus far this season from the Bluejackets’ offense. The team totaled 13 first downs and over 200 yards of total offense, the vast majority of which was earned on the ground.
Blake King racked up 101 yards rushing, with Kaden Mullis adding 91 to make up most of the progress. Unfortunately, the turnovers proved too difficult a barrier for the team to overcome.
“I thought the line did a great job tonight. I thought we ran hard. We played very hard,” said See.
“I’m very proud of the boys. We’ve just got to take care of the football. Any time you’ve got three turnovers, it’s going to be hard to win.”
Eastern Greene’s touchdowns came as the result of a couple of explosive offensive plays. Their first score came via a 62-yard rush from Jace Brown in the second quarter.
They found the endzone again in the fourth on a one-yard rush from Eli Engleking, who began the drive with long carries of 18 and 25 yards to get them to the goalline.
Engleking was the team’s leading rusher with 89 yards. Brown added 65, the majority of which came via the scoring run in the second period. Quarterback Saxton Pennycuff threw for 105 yards, with his top targets being Bryson Jones (68 yards) and Zach Herdon (37 yards).
Next up on the schedule for Mitchell is another Patoka Lake Athletic Conference matchup against Crawford County, the Bluejackets’ first game away from Terry Cole Field following a three-week homestand.
The matchup is one that Mitchell has controlled in recent years, winning eight straight.
Things could be tougher this time around after a hot start from the Wolfpack. In their second season under head coach Nick Stroud, they’ve started 3-1, which is already the most wins the program has seen since 2008.
“Crawford is much improved. Coach Stroud has done a great job over there. He’s got them ready to play,” said See.
“They’re going to come at you so we’ve got to be ready to match the physicality and match their intensity. I think we can do it. I think we just had a couple of unlucky breaks tonight and it didn’t go our way,” he continued.
