Sports Update
Home Sweet Homecoming: Sophomore QB leads Lions in rout of Cardinals
BY Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
Prestonwood Christian Academy (7-0, 3-0) wasted no time asserting its dominance Friday night, scoring its first touchdown less a minute in against John Paul II (1-5, 0-3).
That touchdown was a sign of things to come as the Lions scored early and often in a 42-7 Homecoming defeat of their cross-town rival. The Lions seemingly ran and passed at will, racking up 586 yards of offense in a game where their starters played only the first half.
"It was good to see [sophomore Mickey Mitchell] throw the ball like he did," said Chris Cunningham, Prestonwood head coach. "We were real pleased with the way our protection held up and with Mickey's accuracy. We went into tonight saying we were going to throw the ball, but I was real pleased with our balance tonight."
Mitchell led the offense, completing 25-of-37 passes for 325 yards and four scores. The sophomore signal caller spread the ball around, with four different receivers catching touchdown passes.
"We just want to take whatever they give us and we saw on tape their corners were backing off," Mitchell said. "When we are able to run the ball, it really opens up the passing game."
The Lions got on the board quickly, with Mitchell finding senior running back Grayson Warren wide open down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown only 48 seconds into the first quarter. It would prove the first of several big plays for Warren, who finished the game with 84 yards receiving alongside 193 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
"We executed really well tonight and worked well as a team," said Warren, who now has 1,045 yards rushing for the season. "If it wasn't for my line I wouldn't be able to do it. Running behind those boys gives me all the yards I need. With our running game, the safeties were biting on our play-action pass and Mickey was getting the ball to receivers in the open field."
With a quick 7-0 lead, Prestonwood wasted little time putting the game out of reach.
Freshman receiver Michael Irvin caught a 6-yard scoring pass midway through the first quarter, his second touchdown of the season. Warren then added a 3-yard touchdown run and freshman wide out Jonathan Heasely hauled in a 25-yard pass with 1:43 left in the opening quarter for a 28-0 lead.
Two second-quarter scores made the score 42-0 at the break, a mark that stood until late in the fourth when John Paul got on the board on a 1-yard run by senior Nick Finer.
Six different receivers caught passes for the Lions, with Irvin leading the way thanks to a career-high 10 grabs for 69 yards. Senior Stephen Riegel was second on the team with six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, and senior Christian Morgan hauled in two passes for 50 yards.
While the Prestonwood offense stood out, Cunningham heaped praise on his defense.
"We felt if we could stop [John Paul senior quarterback Chase McCoy] then we would be able to take away what they do best," Cunningham said. "They are pretty much a wildcat offense and we put (senior linebacker) Mike Mitchell on McCoy and shut him down. We did a real good job of controlling their offense at the line of scrimmage."
McCoy, who leads the Cardinals in rushing as well as passing, finished the game with only 74 yards on the ground, much of that coming after the game was out of reach. With senior receiver Ryan Cook missing the game due to an injury, McCoy struggled to throw the ball and completed only 7-of-21 passes for 59 yards and one interception.
With Cook out, John Paul II relied on senior wide receiver Cameron Meziere, who led the Cardinals with three catches for 31 yards while also running for 69 yards.
Prestonwood returns to action Friday on the road against Trinity Christian Academy, while John Paul II travels to Argyle to take on Liberty Christian Academy. Both kickoffs are slated for 7:30 p.m.
That touchdown was a sign of things to come as the Lions scored early and often in a 42-7 Homecoming defeat of their cross-town rival. The Lions seemingly ran and passed at will, racking up 586 yards of offense in a game where their starters played only the first half.
"It was good to see [sophomore Mickey Mitchell] throw the ball like he did," said Chris Cunningham, Prestonwood head coach. "We were real pleased with the way our protection held up and with Mickey's accuracy. We went into tonight saying we were going to throw the ball, but I was real pleased with our balance tonight."
Mitchell led the offense, completing 25-of-37 passes for 325 yards and four scores. The sophomore signal caller spread the ball around, with four different receivers catching touchdown passes.
"We just want to take whatever they give us and we saw on tape their corners were backing off," Mitchell said. "When we are able to run the ball, it really opens up the passing game."
The Lions got on the board quickly, with Mitchell finding senior running back Grayson Warren wide open down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown only 48 seconds into the first quarter. It would prove the first of several big plays for Warren, who finished the game with 84 yards receiving alongside 193 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
"We executed really well tonight and worked well as a team," said Warren, who now has 1,045 yards rushing for the season. "If it wasn't for my line I wouldn't be able to do it. Running behind those boys gives me all the yards I need. With our running game, the safeties were biting on our play-action pass and Mickey was getting the ball to receivers in the open field."
With a quick 7-0 lead, Prestonwood wasted little time putting the game out of reach.
Freshman receiver Michael Irvin caught a 6-yard scoring pass midway through the first quarter, his second touchdown of the season. Warren then added a 3-yard touchdown run and freshman wide out Jonathan Heasely hauled in a 25-yard pass with 1:43 left in the opening quarter for a 28-0 lead.
Two second-quarter scores made the score 42-0 at the break, a mark that stood until late in the fourth when John Paul got on the board on a 1-yard run by senior Nick Finer.
Six different receivers caught passes for the Lions, with Irvin leading the way thanks to a career-high 10 grabs for 69 yards. Senior Stephen Riegel was second on the team with six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, and senior Christian Morgan hauled in two passes for 50 yards.
While the Prestonwood offense stood out, Cunningham heaped praise on his defense.
"We felt if we could stop [John Paul senior quarterback Chase McCoy] then we would be able to take away what they do best," Cunningham said. "They are pretty much a wildcat offense and we put (senior linebacker) Mike Mitchell on McCoy and shut him down. We did a real good job of controlling their offense at the line of scrimmage."
McCoy, who leads the Cardinals in rushing as well as passing, finished the game with only 74 yards on the ground, much of that coming after the game was out of reach. With senior receiver Ryan Cook missing the game due to an injury, McCoy struggled to throw the ball and completed only 7-of-21 passes for 59 yards and one interception.
With Cook out, John Paul II relied on senior wide receiver Cameron Meziere, who led the Cardinals with three catches for 31 yards while also running for 69 yards.
Prestonwood returns to action Friday on the road against Trinity Christian Academy, while John Paul II travels to Argyle to take on Liberty Christian Academy. Both kickoffs are slated for 7:30 p.m.
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