Football Preview: Mitchell Mustangs vs. Land O' Lakes Gators
Mitchell has gone 7-1 against Land O' Lakes recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Monday. The Mitchell Mustangs will play host again on Monday to welcome the Land O' Lakes Gators, where kickoff is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Mitchell has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 124 points over their last three matches.
Last Friday, Mitchell strolled past Tampa Catholic with points to spare, taking the game 31-14.
The match pitted two dominant backs against one another in Corey Simms and Joshua Balloon Jr. Simms had a great game and rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Balloon Jr was balling out in the loss, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown, while also picking up 35 receiving yards.
Mitchell wouldn't let Tampa Catholic keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. Mitchell can thank Bishop Taylor and Cody Allen for forcing all of them. Allen also set a new season high mark in total tackles with nine. Another thorn in Tampa Catholic's side was Dylan Leighton, who made 12 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Mitchell was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 256 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tampa Catholic only rushed for 102.
Meanwhile, Land O' Lakes was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were just a hair shy of victory and fell 20-19 to Leesburg.
Land O' Lakes' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Xavier Clemente, who picked up 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and Tj Morrow, who rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown. Clemente's longest reception was for an incredible 89 yards.
Land O' Lakes' defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. It was truly a group effort as Mason Clarke, Patrick Monger, and Monger picked up one apiece. Monger has been hot recently, having also posted at least one defended passe the last four times he's played.
Mitchell's win was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-0. As for Land O' Lakes, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-4.
Monday's game might be decided in the on the ground. Mitchell has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 181.2 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Land O' Lakes struggles in that department as they've been averaging 156. It's looking like Monday's contest might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything went Mitchell's way against Land O' Lakes in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as Mitchell made off with a 31-10 victory. Does Mitchell have another victory up their sleeve, or will Land O' Lakes turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
