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Early and Often: Lions' senior running back has career day in 44-7 victory over Bulldogs
BY Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
"It's been a long time since we had that many carries."
Those were the words of Prestonwood Christian Academy head coach Chris Cunningham Friday night after his team racked up 56 carries in a dominating 44-7 victory over Royse City (0-3).
The traditionally pass-happy Lions (3-0) used a size advantage on the offensive line to wear down the smaller Bulldogs, who had no answer for running back Grayson Warren. The senior ran the ball a career-high 35 times for 202 yards and three scores.
Prestonwood is breaking in a new quarterback and receiving corps this year, and Cunningham said it will take some time for the passing game to fully develop. In the meantime, the Lions are happy to take what the defense gives them, even if it means running the ball 56 times and passing only 18 times.
"They were leaving five in the box and playing two deep and five underneath, so it was going to be kind of tough for us to throw," Cunningham said. "We needed to be able to run the ball tonight and we did that."
The Lions' running game may have dominated the stat sheet, but it was their defense that set the tone early.
Senior J.P. Coward picked off a Jackson Watts pass on the third play of the game and returned it 21 yards for a 7-0 lead. Royse City bounced back with an eight-play scoring drive on its next possession to tie the game 7-7, but that was all the Bulldogs' offense could muster against a fast, aggressive Prestonwood defense.
"I am real proud of the defense," Cunningham said. "They have been consistent since we started and they have been really getting after people. It helps us when we are struggling on offense to know they are going to keep us in the game."
While several Lions' players had big games on the defensive side of the ball, senior middle linebacker Mike Mitchell had one of the biggest.
Mitchell seemed to be in on almost every tackle, including a 13-yard loss in the second quarter that resulted in a Royse City fumble.
"It is a blessing to have Mike out there," Cunningham said. "He makes a ton of plays. If they ever break out he runs them down. He covers a multitude of sins if we have mistakes."
Royse City mustered only 70 yards on 40 carries. While the Bulldogs didn't roll out the game plan the Lions expected, Mitchell was happy to see them focus on the run.
"I didn't think they were going to run right at us after how well we stopped the run in our last game," Mitchell said. "I thought they were going to run the ball outside more or throw the ball to the fullback more often. If they are going to run up the middle, we just want to keep jamming up there."
Mitchell credited the defensive backs for taking the passing game away.
Watts completed only 3-of-17 passes for 52 yards, with several of his attempts broken up by the Prestonwood secondary and others falling helplessly to the turf due to heavy pressure from the Lions' front seven..
Prestonwood quarterback Mickey Mitchell, Mike's younger brother, efficiently managed the fast-paced offense, which routinely snapped the ball with 15-20 seconds remaining on the play clock. The 6-foot-7 sophomore ran the option with apparent ease, carrying the ball 15 times for 105 yards and one score.
While he completed only 8-of-16 passes for 92 yards, Cunningham was happy with his quarterback's performance.
"I thought Mickey threw the ball great, we just had a lot of drops," he said. "That has been an issue for us the last week or two, so we just need to go back to work and get better at catching that thing."
Another thing Cunningham said his team needs to work on is cutting down on penalties, something he partially attributes to having a fairly young team. Overall, the Lions were whistled 10 times for 70 yards, including a 15-yard facemask penalty that gave the Bulldogs an automatic first down when they would have been facing a 3rd-and-29 from their own 9 yard line.
"The thing I have been proud of -- and not that I ever want penalties -- is that we have been able to overcome them," Cunningham said. "We can do that, but I would rather just eliminate the penalties."
Prestonwood returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday from Pleasant Grove Stadium in Dallas where they will face Roosevelt.
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