By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL – Mitchell High School fell to 0-2 on the season on Friday, losing their first home game of the season against Patoka Lake Athletic Conference opponent Springs Valley in devastating fashion, 48-0.
From weather-related delays to injuries to turnovers and everything in between, if it could’ve gone wrong for the Bluejackets, it likely did on the evening.
Mitchell’s series of unfortunate events began early in the first quarter following a delayed start. After picking up an early first down thanks to a 14-yard connection between quarterback Ethan Turner and Kyzen Wigley, the Bluejackets were forced to punt on a fourth down.
While gearing up for the play, the ball was snapped high and later recovered by the Blackhawks on Mitchell’s 18-yard line, leading to an eventual 12-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Larron Childers, his first of three on the night.
After forcing another punt from the Bluejackets on their next possession, Springs Valley found the endzone just three minutes later in the first quarter, this time thanks to a 37-yard carry from Christian Hamilton.
On the next possession, Mitchell made their way into Blackhawk’s territory before losing the ball to a fumble that was recovered by Hamilton on his team’s 31-yard line, leading to the team’s third rushing TD of the first quarter, a 69-yard run from quarterback Konner Chase.
Springs Valley didn’t let up from there, scoring once more before the end of the quarter, after forcing a fumble on the kick-off following Chase’s TD run, recovering the ball on the Bluejackets’ 31-yard line, and scoring by way of a 31-yard pass from Chase to James Walls on the very next play.
Childers scored his second touchdown of the game early in the second quarter on a 39-yard carry, putting the Blackhawks up 38-0 and initiating a running clock just before play was stopped for around 30 minutes due to a lightning storm in the area.
After play resumed, Turner left the game midway through the second quarter with an injury that would force him out for the remainder of the game. He finished the night with 41 passing yards and a team-high 80 yards on the ground on 12 attempts. He was replaced under center by freshman Cam Gilstrap.
Though Mitchell’s offense continued to struggle, they were able to halt Springs Valley’s scoring, allowing just one more touchdown in the game, a 22-yard rushing TD from Childers in the third quarter.
The Bluejackets had perhaps their best chance to score on the night late in the fourth quarter, threatening to enter the red zone for the first time of the night with the ball on Springs Valley’s 22 yard line.
Then, in a play that felt very on-theme for the night Mitchell had on Friday, running back Gavin Robinson carried the ball 22 yards into the endzone before the play was called back because of an illegal block in the back before the clock eventually ran out, ending the game. Robinson finished the night with 41 rushing yards.
The Bluejackets will remain at home for next week’s game when they will take on another PLAC opponent, West Washington. When the two teams met last season, the Senators emerged victorious 38-8.
