A win over Land O'Lakes will give the Mustangs a grip on the Class 4A District 7 crown.
By FRANK PASTOR
Published October 15, 2004
TRINITY - For the past four seasons, he loomed over the district like a spectre, draining every team's title hopes.
Now that Land O'Lakes quarterback Drew Weatherford is at Florida State, the path is clearer for Mitchell to win its first district championship, a title it can all but secure with a victory over Weatherford's former team tonight at Mustangs Stadium.
It's a good story, but Mitchell isn't buying it.
"We should have beat them last year," senior fullback/defensive end Spencer Brown said. "I'm not trying to say anything bad here, but we should have. It wasn't the fact Drew was on the team. Every team we play, you practice all week on how to defend that, and we did a good job against Drew last year, I thought. We just came up a little short."
Indeed, Mitchell forced Weatherford into three interceptions and was driving for a potential tying touchdown when Weatherford intercepted a pass deep in Land O'Lakes territory with little more than a minute left, sealing the Gators' 13-6 victory.
Stung by the loss, Mitchell is anxious for another shot at Land O'Lakes (2-3, 0-1) - with or without Weatherford.
"If you're the best, you want to play against the best," Mitchell senior guard/linebacker Troy Adams said. "You don't look for an opening. You don't want to dodge anybody. We're not looking to run from anybody. We want to let everybody know we're here to play football."
So far, Mitchell has played as well as any contender.
Whether pounding the ball with the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Brown, taking advantage of the speed of backs D.J. Crosby and James "J.J." Campbell or forcing 21 turnovers on defense, the Mustangs have established themselves as one of the county's elite teams with victories over Pasco and Hudson.
But neither game had the district implications of Land O'Lakes, which is 3-0 all-time against Mitchell.
"It's the biggest game that we've played here," coach Scott Schmitz said. "We've got an opportunity to do something that hasn't been done, and that's win a district championship. Any time you put yourself in position to do that, it's a big ballgame."
To win, Mitchell will have to overcome the absence of Campbell and presence of Land O'Lakes fullback/linebacker Scott Mays.
Campbell, who averages 6.8 yards, tore cartilage in his left knee running on the field before last week's game against Zephyrhills. He had surgery Thursday and is expected to be out 2-3 weeks.
"Whenever you lose a back that can take it 97 yards in the blink of an eye, it hurts," Adams said. "But we've got Ernest Franks, Crosby, Jordan Mustonen, Spence. We're going to rotate and do our thing. Nothing's changed. Our offensive line, we didn't lose anybody there. Those guys still go to work down there."
So does Mays, the county's second-leading rusher (500 yards) and third-leading tackler (56). More than any other Gator, the 5-10, 208-pound senior creates problems for opponents.
"So we've read," said Brown, unconvinced.
"We haven't played him," Adams said. "He seems to cause problems on paper and in stats and he sounds all good, but every game we play we play physical, and if a member from the other team doesn't finish the game, we play four quarters and hit him in the mouth."
