No stopping Mitchell now, Polars on to P.G. Bowl
Last season, the bureaucracy of the B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association set up a block Brayden Mitchell was unable break through.
Now there’s nothing holding him and those powerful legs back and the 16-yearold Mitchell is making up for lost time.
He’s playing a starring role as running back/defensive end for the Prince George Polars double-A varsity team and Friday night at Masich Place Stadium Mitchell ran for two touchdowns in the second half in a 54-16 win over the Nechako Valley Vikings which punched the Polars’ ticket into the P.G. Bowl final.
“We were kind of droopy in the first half but we picked it up in the second half, I was just determined to get more touchdowns and more yards and play for my teammates,” said Mitchell.
“It’s truly amazing, I’ve never been on a team like this. We’re playing hard, playing good and playing with heart – with the love of football.”
Denied the chance to play the game he’s played since he was five because the Duchess Park Condors folded last year due to a lack of players, Mitchell joined the Polars as a practice player only but was undeterred. He didn’t miss a practice and the Polars went on to win the Northern Conference championship.
The league rule forces players to miss a full season if they transfer from one school to another, but Mitchell had no choice when the Condors team dissolved. He moved closer to the PGSS catchment area but was still one street away from the boundary. That’s all that kept him from playing.
“I was pretty devastated, but it’s OK,” said Mitchell.
“I just waited it out, repped it out with my team and kept training, I just want to prove everything this year. I’m grateful for everything right now and I’m playing as hard as I can. All that time and training, it’s paying off right now.”
Now he’s fully licenced to hit, block, run and score and the he’s been doing all of those things with great efficiency. The sixfoot, 210-pound Mitchell is a big part of the reason why the Polars are a perfect 4-0 this season.
“He was right there last year at practice, he knew he couldn’t play, and now he’s playing both ways, offence and defence, and playing well,” said Polars head coach Pat Bonnett. “He’s a good player with good legs and good balance and I’m glad he decided to join us.
“I understand the rule about not allowing a kid to transfer from one school to another because he wants to join a winning program. But when a school doesn’t have a team and they fold it, two years in a row now, I have an issue with that.”
PGSS was never in trouble in Friday’s semifinal playoff. Braden Reed and Gavin Murray made sure of that, each scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns in the opening half to take a 28-8 lead into the locker-room at halftime.
The visitors from Vanderhoof drew life from a 70-yard kickoff return by Kolsen Jensen in the first quarter which took the ball to the PGSS three-yard line and quarterback Kam Shoesmith hooked up with Garrett Dick a few plays later to get the Vikings on the scoreboard.
But it seemed there was no stopping Reed, the Polars quarterback. He kept the Vikings guessing whether he’d take off on a scramble out of the pocket or hand off to his running backs – Murrray, Mitchell or Gage Bernard. All three ate up significant yardage to dim the Vikings’ hopes of winning their first game of the season.
Although Nechako Valley moved the ball well at times in the third quarter, the Polars kept their foot on the gas and scored three majors in the quarter. Reed scrambled 44 yards to paydirt on the opening play of the second half and on the ensuing kickoff, Shoesmith fumbled the ball, giving the Polars a new set of downs on the Viking 10yard line. Reed then ran it into the end zone for a 41-8 lead.
A Murray interception set up Mitchell TD sweep from 10 yards out and Mitchell struck again early in the fourth quarter, bulling his way through on a 13-yard scamper. The Polars’ defensive line sacked Shoesmith and he limped off the field and was replaced by running back Tyler Cherry who, after completing a pass, showed his speed running a 38-yard bootleg in for a touchdown.
“We didn’t let up in the second half from an offensive standpoint, perhaps defensively,” said Bonnett. “We’ve been used to getting lots in the first half and very little in the second half, This time we balanced it out.
“We’re down to 16 players and it’s pretty tough. The same 11 guys stayed out there and they played guts ball. Vanderhoof ‘s a tough team but I think our guys have conditioned themselves well and they’re strong and determined and they know in a lot of respects PGSS is the team to beat because we’ve had a successful program over the years.”
Cherry knew his team would be hardpressed to knock off the defending champs and the score was lopsided but the Vikings did not go down without a fight.
“At the start we played alright and then we started to kick in in the third quarter but I don’t know where the time went, it went way too fast,”” said Cherry. “They’re a great team.”
The Polars will play the Kelly Road Roadrunners in the P.G. Bowl Final next Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Roadrunners beat the College Heights Cougars 12-8 in Friday’s other semifinal at Masich Place Stadium.