By Noah Dalton
LEOPOLD — In their final regular season game for the year, Mitchell High School picked up their first win of the season, beating Patoka Lake Athletic Conference foe Perry Central 23-20 in a tightly contested matchup.
The two sides found themselves in nearly identical positions coming into the game, both sitting tied at the bottom of the PLAC standings, winless for the season at 0-8.
Facing the pressure of a winless season, the Commodores took possession first, moving the ball nearly 80 yards over the course of a slow opening drive that chewed around 8 minutes from the clock.
With successful run after successful run to keep them moving forward, Perry Central made it all the way to the redzone before the Bluejackets were finally able to get a stop by forcing a turnover on downs.
Mitchell took over on their own 10 yard line, but didn’t stay there long.
On the first play of the drive, Joe Todd landed a screen pass to Kaden Mullis, who proceeded to carry it 82 yards down the field, ultimately setting them up for their first touchdown of the night, which was scored on a four-yard rush from Mullis a few plays later.
Perry Central responded late in the second quarter, after another long drive this time resulted in a three-yard touchdown carry from Lance Kern.
On the first play following the kickoff, which left the Bluejackets to take over on their own 42-yard line, Todd completed a deep pass to Blake King, who carried it the rest of the way to the house, 56-yards in total, to retake the lead heading into the locker room.
The Commodores were in control for much of the first half, keeping Mitchell’s offense off the field for the majority of the time, with Perry Central running 42 offensive plays to just 10 from the Bluejackets. Despite the discrepancy, Mitchell made the most of their limited opportunities.
“They chewed the clock up on us. I just saw some stuff that I thought they were giving us over the top, and we have some good athletes out there, so I decided to take a couple of shots,” said Mitchell head coach Zach See.
“The line did a phenomenal job of keeping the quarterback upright, the quarterback did a phenomenal job of putting it out in front of the receivers and letting those talented guys go and get it, and the receivers did a heck of a job of going and taking the ball.”
The Bluejackets got off to a hot start in the second half, forcing an early fumble, which they were able to recover. On the ensuing drive, Mitchell made it across the goal line again, this time courtesy of an 8-yard carry from King for his second TD of the night.
On the Commodore’s next possession, Zven Lutchka grabbed an interception on the first play, returning possession back to the Bluejackets and continuing to keep Perry Central’s offense on the sideline in contrast to how the first half had gone.
Through Mitchell ruled over much of the early goings of the second half, the Commodores did not go down without a fight.
Perry Central quarterback Tyler Elmer connected with Jace Brown for a 22-yard touchdown pass with five minutes left to play, reducing the deficit to 23-14.
The Commodores then recovered an onside kick, allowing them to score again, this time via a 60-yard completion from Elmer to Brown, which made it a 23-20 game with around a minute left.
The Bluejackets clinched the win after recovering a second onside kick attempt by Perry Central, which allowed them to kneel out the remainder of the clock.
“We faced some more adversity there, and we matched it. We never gave all the way in. I think we did get down after the big play over the top, but they did a good job of responding,” said See.
Now with a win under their belt for the first time all season, Mitchell will head into Sectional play with a bit of newfound momentum as they prepare for a clash against Linton-Stockton
The Miners are 6-3 heading into the postseason as they look to follow up on the success of the previous season, where they advanced all the way to the Indiana 2A State Championship game, eventually losing to Adams Central.
They’re led by QB Paul Oliver, who is someone See said the Bluejackets will need need to reign in if they want to pull off the upset.
“It’s always nice to roll into sectional with a win. It gains you momentum, it gains you confidence,” said See.
“Coach Oliver does a fantastic job at Linton. He’s been there for years now and his resume speaks for itself, and they’re going to be ready to play,” continued See.
“We’ve just got to match their physicality and just try to keep Paul Oliver in check. I think we’ll be okay if we do those things, but it ain’t an easy task.”
