Junior Rylan Cooper gets the handoff from sophomore quarterback Caleb Cook during Mitchell’s rout of Owen on homecoming week. Mitchell (4-2, 2-0) is at Draughn in Week 7. (Kelli Blackburn/Intern)
The Mitchell High varsity football team on Friday, Sept 23 handled conference foe Owen 49-26 on homecoming night.
Mitchell (4-2, 2-0) started fast with senior Gage Young taking a 9-yard carry for an early touchdown.
The Mountaineer defense continued to stifle Owen (0-5, 0-2) in the second quarter as seniors Ty Turbyfill and Chad Giarrusso combined for three more rushing touchdowns to make the score 27-0 at halftime.
Giarrusso kept the scoring going in the second half with a 41-yard rushing touchdown that pushed the lead to 34-0. The Warhorses broke through later in the third quarter when senior Alex Sanchez threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior Hunter Inabinett.
Turbyfill answered the Owen score before Inabinett scored again to make the score 41-14.
Sophomore Cole Young added one last touchdown for the hosts in the fourth. Sanchez scored two late touchdowns to make the final score 49-26.
Giarrusso ran for a game-high 293 yards and three scores. Gage Young had five carries for 59 yards and a score and Cole Young had 10 yards and a touchdown on a pair of attempts.
Turbyfill completed 7-of-10 passes for 70 yards, including a 31-yard strike to Kadan Phillips. Dalton Hollifield and Gage Young had two receptions each.
Horney paced the Mitchell defense with 5 tackles with 2 sacks. Hollifield tallied 7 tackles.
The Mountaineers continue Western Highlands Conference play at Draughn (5-1, 2-0) in Week 7.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29 in Valdese. Kickoff was moved up one day due to the approaching Hurricane Ian.