By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL — Mitchell High School’s football program kicked off a near era, taking on Lafayette Central Catholic on Friday night at Terry Cole Field, marking the team’s first game under new head coach Bobby Owens.
Ultimately, the Bluejackets were not able to pick up a win to start their season, losing 63-6 to the Knights, who dominated the early stages of the game.
Owens, previously the defensive coordinator at North Daviess, is taking over on the heels of consecutive losing seasons for the Bluejackets, who most recently finished with a record of 1-9 in the 2025-26 season.
Last year’s group was a young team, with a roster primarily comprised of underclassmen. This year’s team is no different, with just five seniors on the roster.
Owens noted mistakesmade early by his relatively inexperienced group, many of which led to early penalties, as a component in Lafeyette Central Catholic jumping out to a 49-6 lead at halftime.
“Gotta clean up the huddles. We gotta get in and out of the huddle on offense. Had way too many delay of games and used up way too many timeouts whenever the clock was stopped,” said Owens.
“They only had 21 points with two minutes left in the first half and then we had a bunch of mistakes compound, and they scored 21 more points before we went into halftime. And that really deflated the guys.”
Mitchell’s lone touchdown of the night came late in the second quarter, by way of a 1-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Kaden Mullis, who assumed the role after primarily serving as the team’s running back the previous season.
In addition to the scoring drive, Owens noted the team’s run defense, which held the Knights to just eight yards on the ground in the second half, as strong aspects of the team’s performance.
“We’re built to stop the run. Whenever we got back to our base defense, whenever they started running the ball, we were able to stop the run,” he said.
Knights’ QB Dru Stapleton led the way for them, throwing 11 completions for 141 yards and four touchdowns. Receiver Parker Campbell was his top target with six catches, two for touchdowns, and 49 yards.
Mullis and senior Sven Lutcka shared time at QB for the Bluejackets, with Mullis in for most of the offensive snaps. The pair combined for ten completions and 113 yards.
The Bluejackets will have no time to mourn this loss, as Patoka Lake Athletic Confernence play begins for them next week, when they travel to French Lick to take on Springs Valley.
The Blackhawks finished last season with a 10-1 record, winning the PLAC championship after an undefeated season in conference play.
“Like I said, we’re built to stop the run, and they’re a running team, so defensively I think we’ll match up really well,” said Owens.
“We’ve just gotta come downhill and make the tackle at the line of scrimmage or behind. Today, we were a little flat-footed because they were throwing the ball a lot. So, whenever they did run, we weren’t meeting them until they were two or three yards to the positive side. I think we’ve got a lot to work on, but we’ll get there,” he added.
