Mitchell soundly defeats another district foe

TRINITY — No matter the weather, Mitchell was going to make sure it got in its Class 7A, District 9 Homecoming game Friday night against Sunlake.

The Mustangs were able to beat the rain, despite numerous contests along the west side of Pasco and Pinellas counties postponing their games until Monday evening. Mitchell got a solid performance from quarterback Ezra Brennan, who threw for three touchdowns and led the Mustangs to a 54-2 win over the Seahawks at Mustang Stadium.

The win sets up another district showdown, this one against Sickles next Friday. For the fourth time this season, Sunlake gave up 50 or more points to an opponent.

“It’s basically what we’ve been doing here the past few weeks," Mitchell coach Andy Schmitz said. “We’ve been able to build a lot of depth during this time when we get up big in games. We have found that we have a lot of playmakers who can make plays.”

Mitchell’s offense hasn’t always run through running back Tyler Williams and it continued that path on Friday night, with the power back rushing for 78 yards and three touchdowns on six carries. Williams’ first score of the game was a 10-yard run and the rout was on.

Brennan ended up scoring the Mustangs’ second touchdown, running it in from 6 yards out. With Mitchell leading 34-0 as the second quarter was winding down, Brennan connected with wide receiver Jonathan Fairbank on an 83-yard touchdown pass to give the Mustangs (7-1, 3-1) a 40-0 lead heading into intermission.

Sunlake (3-6, 0-4) has one game left in its season against Leto next Friday. It has been a trial and error year for the Seahawks under Trey Burdick, who replaced longtime boss Bill Browning last offseason. Burdick is the school’s second head coach in program history.

Mitchell, whose lone district loss is to Pinellas Park, likely can still secure a playoff spot by beating Sickles next week.

“I haven’t seen anything on Sickles yet on film,” Schmitz said. “We will start preparing for Sickles this week and we have to treat this game as the biggest one of the year. This game can decide seeding and what not when it comes to the playoffs.”