Mitchell finds the end zone 3 more times, but Highland comes up short at Rumble

POCATELLO — On a night when an undersized Highland team had its physical deficiencies put on display, All-State running back Cedric Mitchell served as one of the few bright spots as the Rams lost to Brigham City, Utah’s Box Elder Bees.

Mitchell, who tallied 144 yards and three scores in Highland’s Week 0 home-opening loss last week, had himself another monster performance, scoring three more touchdowns and compiling more than 200 total yards of offense.

Highland, though, was giving away 50-plus pounds at every position on the line, and it showed as Box Elder pounded the ball relentlessly on the ground, and the Rams (0-2, 0-0) had no answer, falling 31-19.

When asked after the game how difficult it was for his team to stop the Box Elder running game while giving up so much size, Highland head coach Nick Sorrell sighed before answering.

“It tests every ounce of a person,” he said. “There’s the physical side, and then the mental side — just, play after play after play. I thought we made some really good adjustments as the game went, but it just wasn’t enough.”

The Bees ran the ball 43 times for 310 yards and four touchdowns — behind five offensive linemen listed at 300 or more pounds. They averaged 7.2 yards per carry while breaking just four runs of more than 10 yards.

Before the start of the season, Sorrell acknowledged that his Rams were a big undersized for the 6A division, but said that he felt his squad had enough speed and athleticism to counter that.

Highland finally did find some room to use that speed early in the second quarter, when Jacob Vincent hit Mitchell, running a post route from the slot position, for a 21-yard touchdown to make it an 11-6 Box Elder lead.

Late in the second quarter, with the score still 11-6, Vincent was intercepted when the ball slipped from his hands. The intercepting defender appeared to be ticketed for the end zone, but was run down by Mitchell.

Not only did the Highland running back keep the Bees out of the end zone, but he also stripped the ball, which was recovered by a Highland lineman for a touchback.

Sorrell continues struggling to find words to describe Mitchell, but did talk about the play his running back made to prevent a pick-six.

“That’s pure heart and effort, and that’s the type of stuff that you can’t teach. You’ve gotta have that within yourself,” the coach said. “A lot of times, there aren’t enough words to describe him.”

Through pure hustle and effort, Mitchell gave his team another crack at taking a lead. But Vincent was intercepted again on the very next snap. And Box Elder turned the second one into a touchdown to take an 18-6 lead.

Vincent had the ball slip from his hands several times throughout the game, resulting not only in an interception but also in multiple loose balls, all of which were recovered by the Rams.

Asked what caused the ball control issues, Sorrell didn’t have an answer that carried any level of certainty.

“It’s one of those days,” he said with an irritated chuckle.

As for any positives he will focus on aside from Mitchell, Sorrell pointed to wide receiver Kona Baldwin, who made several athletic catches and finished the game with 87 yards on five grabs.

He also spoke about how his team, for the second week in a row, appeared to be in a bleak state at halftime, only to come back and give itself a shot at pulling off a victory.

“We talk about fight,” Sorrell said. “We were down 18-6, and things were just spiraling out of control at halftime. We went in (to the locker room), calmed everybody down … then we came out, did our thing, and went up by one. That’s the type of stuff that I want to see. … Now we’ve got to learn how to finish.”

Mitchell took a screen pass 75 yards to the house, outrunning everyone in purple and white, to make it an 18-13 game less than two minutes into the second half. Then, with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, he took an inside handoff up the middle and broke multiple tackles before scampering for a 39-yard score.

Suddenly, the Rams were up 19-18.

But Box Elder’s run-heavy offensive attack started rolling again and produced the final two scores of the game.

For Sorrell, being 0-2 after battling the way his team has is especially frustrating, given how close they have come to two wins.

“We’re close,” he said. “It’s coming down to one or two plays.”

Those one or two plays have yet to go Highland’s way.

Mitchell finished the game with six catches for 130 yards and two scores, and 12 carries for 88 yards and another score.

He and the Rams will get a bye week to lick their wounds and find ways to turn those “one or two plays” their way. They will be back in action on Sept. 11, when Highland travels to Boise to take on Capital.