By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL — Mitchell High School entered Friday night’s Patoka Lake Athletic Confernence matchup against Perry Central coming off a 61-20 loss to Paoli, but ultimately fell 29-26 in a back-and-forth game decided in the final minute.
The game, the team’s final of the regular season, was ultimately decided by the winning touchdown from Perry Central quarterback Cruz Yeager, who scored on a 1-yard sneak with 42.9 seconds left. The ensuing two-point conversion gave the Commodores the 29-26 win.
The Commodores struck first, with Loren Cole’s 4-yard touchdown run with 3:01 left in the first quarter. The Bluejackets answered with a 14-yard touchdown catch from Kelan Endris with 1:12 remaining, and the teams were tied 6-6 after one.
Endris put Mitchell ahead 12-6 with a 57-yard touchdown run with 10:38 left in the second quarter. Perry Central responded with a 10-yard touchdown run from Khi Williams with 1:14 left, followed by a two-point pass from Yeager to Mason Grossman, to take a 14-12 halftime lead.
Head coach Bobby Owens said Perry Central’s inverted wishbone, which hadn’t shown up on film, caught his defense off guard. “We honestly didn’t game plan for it,” Owens said.
The Bluejackets moved from a 5-2 to a 5-3 front to slow the run, and it worked. The Commodores rushed for 154 yards on 27 carries in the first half, but only 66 yards on 20 carries in the second, including just 5 yards in the fourth quarter.
The Commodores opened the second half with a 77-yard kickoff return from Troy Richard, setting up a 5-yard touchdown run from Williams with 11:40 left in the third quarter.
Moments later, Endris answered with an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and Kaden Mullis ran in the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 21-20, which is where it stood after three quarters.
Mitchell pulled ahead 26-21 on the first play of the fourth, when Mullis found Jaredon Sowder for a 7-yard touchdown.
Their defense then stopped Perry Central on fourth-and-goal from the 5, but the Bluejackets punted after taking over with 5:18 left. Yeager hit Parker Toothman for 36 yards on fourth-and-8 with 1:41 remaining to set up the game-winning score.
Yeager completed 3 of 12 passes for 55 yards, with Toothman catching two for 44 yards.
Endris scored three of Mitchell’s four touchdowns, on a 14-yard catch, a 57-yard run, and an 80-yard kickoff return. “When he gets the ball in his hands and gets a little crease, he’s got the speed to take it the distance,” Owens said. Sowder added the 7-yard touchdown catch from Mullis.
Mullis led the Bluejackets on the ground with 17 carries for 109 yards, followed by Endris (5 carries, 75 yards). Sven Lutchka led all receivers with five catches for 35 yards, while Sowder had three catches for 14 yards. Mullis completed 10 of 20 passes (77 yards, 2 TD), and Lutchka was 0-for-1.
Mitchell will host Switzerland County in the first round of the sectional at Terry Cole Field. A win would send the Bluejackets on the road to face the winner of Clarksville and Eastern (Pekin).
Owens is confident heading into the postseason. “We’re going to get a win next week here on Terry Cole Field,” he said. “That’s my vision. We’re going to put together complete games, and we’re going to get these kids what they deserve.”
