Chris Pitman gains his views from 40 years of involvement with Mitchell High School Athletics.
The Mitchell Mountaineers came home Friday night for senior night and their final regular-season game of 2019.
There were major concerns about how the Mountaineer defense would defend an Avery offense that has been very productive throughout the year. Additionally, the Mountaineers were coming off of a great win at Polk, and the possibility of a letdown was an issue.
The Mountaineer offense got right to work early. Noah Pitman scored the first of his touchdowns at the 8:51 mark of the first quarter. About a minute later, Matthew Gilbert intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards for the second score of the night for the Mountaineers. Overall, the Mountaineer offense turned in another productive performance, amassing 460 yards and scoring six touchdowns, four on the ground and two in the air.
Defensively, the Mountaineers came with a good game plan and were ready to play. The Avery offense has had a great year, and the defensive staff knew it would be a challenge to limit or slow down the Viking offense. Four of Avery’s offensive possessions ended by a punt, one ended with a safety and one by an interception. The Vikings’ other three possessions ended with a touchdown, the end of the first half and the end of the game.
The Mitchell defense limited the potent Avery attack to 203 yards. Overall, as has been the case this year, it was another solid performance by the Mitchell defense. Through 11 games, the defense has given up only 61 points. That may be a record, but I’m not 100 percent sure.
So, the Mountaineers end the regular season with a 10-1 record. In four of the past five years, they have finished the regular season with 10 wins. That is a pretty doggone good record and ranks among the top records in Western North Carolina during that period. Coach Travise Pitman has put together a top-notch program that has produced winning teams in each of his six seasons as the head coach of the Mountaineers.
The 2019 playoffs are now in sight for the Mountaineers. Based on student enrollment this year, Mitchell was placed in the bigger 1A bracket and landed the No. 2 seed in the West. The last time they were in the big 1A classification, the Mountaineers advanced to the state championship game. This year, there are some huge challenges between now and another appearance in the state championship. The road to get there will be rugged.
After a first-round bye, the Mountaineers will play the winner of the Polk-East Wilkes game. That game will be played Friday, Nov. 22, in Ledger. With a win and moving from there, potential opponents include Swain, Bessemer City and a fourth-round matchup with No. 1 seed East Surry. So, the road to the championship game will be tough. As I mentioned in an earlier article, and it was said by someone other than I, “A team is only as good as its last game.” Hopefully, at the end of the year, the 2019 team will be called a “good team.”
This week the team has the luxury of having a bye week. Again this week, the coaches can spend extra time working on polishing skills and generally getting better at all components of football. By this time of year, all of the plays and schemes have been installed. So, there aren’t new plays or schemes on which to work. Instead, it is time to do what the team does best and work on getting better at those things. One downfall during a bye week is it takes the team out of its typical game week preparation, and that certainly is a concern. The Mitchell coaches will work to overcome all obstacles as they point to the 2019 playoffs. Enjoy the bye week and get ready for some big games.
Go, Mountaineers!
Chris Pitman gains his views from 40 years of involvement with Mitchell High School Athletics.