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Football: Mitchell 28, Springstead 7

 
Published Oct. 7, 2017

TRINITY — Once the Mitchell Mustangs got the ball in their hands, particularly Mychael Hamilton's, they were well on their way to first place in District 6A-6.

Hamilton ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns as Mitchell (6-0, 2-0) dominated Springstead in the second half for a 28-7 victory.

Mitchell only had the ball for 1:50 of the first half, which ended 7-7. The Mustangs scored on their first three possessions of the second half, and ran out the clock on the fourth.

"That was as bad as we could play in the first half, and as good as we could play in the second," said Mitchell coach Andy Schmitz.

By the time Hamilton had his first carry, Springstead (5-2, 1-1) had run 30 plays, and the first-half difference was 34-4.

Springstead had an opening drive of nearly nine minutes, going 16 plays and 72 yards. Quarterback Nathan Sims (19 carries, 107 yards) went 11 yards on the first play, Adrian Cabrera added a 23-yarder and Sims kept it for a 2-yard touchdown run.

Mitchell answered rather quickly when Jakob Mattos (7-of-10, 126 yards) lofted a strike to Chris Thomas, who took it in stride for an 80-yard score. The "drive" lasted 12 seconds. Mitchell helped move the Eagles along with four first-quarter conduct penalties, but Springstead returned the favor with three consecutive infractions after reaching the Mustangs' 3-yard line in a 7-7 game.

The resulting field goal attempt became longer, and Adam Rogers blocked sophomore Max O'Rourke's 29-yard effort with 3:05 left in the first half.

The Eagles were 4-for-4 on fourth-down in the half, with Sims pulling off an 11-yard run with 10 to go, topping that with a 17-yard keeper on fourth and 18.

"We didn't really change that much at halftime," Schmitz said. "We were just committing penalties, and they were making some crazy plays. Made a couple of tweaks but that was it. The offensive line keeps improving, and Mychael did what he can do."

Nick Ferrini and Luis Rivera led the defensive charge for Mitchell in the second half, with Canyon Albergo adding two sacks. Springstead helped out with a fumbled snap that cost it 5 yards, leading to a punt after Mitchell had started the third quarter with an eight-play, 57-yard drive where Hamilton supplied 42 of the yards on six runs. Hamilton made it 14-7 Mitchell on a 13-yard run with 8:36 left in the third.

Hamilton went for 60 yards on three carries on the next drive, which ended with Thomas' tough 8-yard touchdown snag. Mattos found fullback Niko Connetti for a couple of third-down passes to keep drives alive — Mitchell actually ran more plays than Springstead after halftime — and Hamilton added a 1-yard score midway through the fourth.

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Springstead ran for just 27 yards in the second half, 184 total. O'Rourke came off the bench to complete 5-of-5 passes for 33 yards. Mitchell outgained the Eagles 284-227.