VALIANT EFFORT NOT ENOUGH
DeSoto Central falls to White Station 51-35 in last Friday’s matchup.
The Dillon Mitchell road show played a date in DeSoto County on Friday. And the reviews were unanimous.
Mitchell, a senior receiver who has committed to Oregon, scored six touchdowns in spectacular fashion to lead White Station — ranked ninth in The Commercial Appeal’s Dandy Dozen — to a 51-35 victory over third-ranked DeSoto Central.
The effort came a week after he scored twice, but had three touchdowns called back, in a season-opening 28-20 loss to CBHS.
“It was frustrating, but I was only thinking about DeSoto Central,” Mitchell said. “Last week was frustrating because I felt we could have won the game without the penalties.
“But (Friday) basically I just wanted to be more of a leader, not just score touchdowns but do whatever I could to help my team win.”
Mitchell got on the board in the first quarter, executing a 360 spin move after catching Burk Williams’ pass and taking it in from 41 yards. He then scored on a 14-yard reverse and followed with a 38-yard pass from Williams that featured a nice-overthe-shoulder grab.
He then caught scoring passes of 51 and 49 yards in the third before icing the game with his most routine play, a quick 7-yard reception.
“They kind of surprised us with some of the coverages they were in, and we kind of had to throw it there late because it was getting kind of hairy,” said Spartans coach Joe Rocconi.
“But that’s what he can do. I’m not really surprised. But our whole team played great. I think our defense came up with some key stops in the red zone in the first half.”
Roland Williams had the lone non-Mitchell touchdown for the Spartans, taking a reverse 32 yards on the second play from scrimmage.
DeSoto Central, which opened the season with an impressive 38-7 victory against Jensen Beach (Florida) in Orlando last week, certainly moved the ball well enough to win.
Cameron Bowman threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Jeffrey Bednarek to make it 7-7 early and running back Alan Lamar, who had 174 yards in the opener, consistently gained yards behind his huge offensive line while scoring on a three short runs and catching a six-yard scoring pass in the second half.
But it wasn’t nearly enough as the Jaguars simply had no answer for Mitchell.
White Station will open Region 4-6A play this Friday and play its third straight road game as it travels to Collierville. DeSoto Central will host Douglass.