By Noah Dalton
NASHVILLE – After picking up their first win of the season the previous week in a dominant effort against Crawford County, Mitchell High School traveled to Brown County in what proved to be a more tightly contested matchup, with Mitchell ultimately falling in defeat 21-12.
After scoring in their opening drive, which consisted of seven consecutive up the middle handoffs to Malakai Goodman that ultimately led to an 11-yard touchdown carry, the Bluejackets’ offense tapered off, not finding the end zone again until near the end of the fourth quarter when Sven Lutchka found enough space to bring a pass from quarterback Cam Gilstrap 80 yards to the house.
Though they managed to keep the game close, a few costly mistakes, particularly a goal line fumble in the first quarter and an interception in the third proved costly for Mitchell, as they were unable to close the gap.
“We’re frustrated because we felt like we were right there and we were right there all game,” said Bluejackets’ head coach Zach See.
“We felt like we played another good game, and just a couple small mistakes we made, you know, that probably made the difference in the game. So, like I told them over there, if we can just clean that stuff up, if we take care of the ball on offense. If we don’t make a mistake, or don’t break down on the defensive line as we’re getting to the quarterback, then we don’t let our DBs play coverage for five or six seconds. And my D-line and linebackers played fantastic tonight. DBs played fantastic tonight.”
For the Eagles, they also scored on their first drive via a 25-yard touchdown pass from Noah Lewis to Logan Sallee on fourth down. Lewis accounted for the team’s two other touchdowns as well, one another pass, this time a four-yard completion to Quintin Bell in the second, before he added on what ultimatey became the game winning score, a two-yard rush across the goal line in the third.
See felt Mitchell’s run game was one of their strengths in the matchup, giving credit to the team’s young offensive line. They helped Goodman to rush for 54 yards on 11 attempts, including his first quarter touchdown. Gilstrap added 26 yards on 10 carries.
“Overall, our run blocking was probably the best tonight that it has been all year. So, kudos to the line. You know, they played hard. They always play hard,” he said.
Gilstrap completed 6/15 attempts for 134 yards with the touchdown to Lutchka in the fourth.
Lutchka was the team’s top receiver on the night with two catches for 103 yards.
Now 1-5 on the year, the Bluejackets are gearing up for Senior Night for their next outing, where they’ll take on Scottsburg (4-2).
“They’re a good team. They’re explosive, they’re explosive offensively, or can be, and they play hard, and they’re going to play hard every play. I tell these guys every week, no matter who we play, no matter the opponent, you’ve got to match their intensity. You’ve got to match their fight, and you’ve got to match their physicality. If we take care of that, if we take care of the ball, and we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we can play with anybody,” said See.
“I think they’re starting to believe that. They’re starting to see it themselves, whereas at the beginning of the year, I don’t know if they would believe me. I don’t know if they truly did, but I truly felt that way from the beginning, and I would feel that way every week. As long as we do the things that we’re supposed to do, I feel like we can compete with anybody.”
