LAND O’LAKES — The rain was letting up, and so, it appeared, was Mitchell.
Down 20-0 at halftime, Land O’Lakes had just gotten its first touchdown, and after recovering a fumble on the kickoff, it quickly found itself at the Mitchell 7-yard line. But that’s when Mitchell defensive lineman Antonio Napoli made one of his numerous tackles for loss, stemming the Gators’ comeback try and helping the Mustangs to a 27-17 victory.
“He had the game of his life,” Mitchell coach Andy Schmitz said of Napoli, whose tackle of quarterback James Pensyl forced LOL to settle for a 25-yard Dylan Hohenthaner field goal.
Mitchell then had its only drive of consequence in the second half, getting a 26-yard pass from Alec Lambert to Dominic Fiumara, a 22-yard run by Ryan Marsh and a 4-yard touchdown plunge from Larry Couch to make its lead 27-10.
Marsh finished with 108 yards on 28 carries. Couch supplemented his stellar linebacker work with 35 yards rushing and two scores, and Lambert was 8-of-13 for 99 yards, with a handful of key third-down passes.
The Mustangs (3-1) gain an enormous victory to start Class 6A, District 6 play.
“It’s nice to get ahead. We’re usually playing catchup,” Schmitz said.
The Gators were hampered by the heavy rain in the first half. They did not achieve a first down, and James Pensyl managed just 8 yards passing.
“It was perfect weather for us,” said Napoli. “They’re a passing team, (it’s a) slippery ball, so they had to run it at our line. And our line is impenetrable.”
It also accounted for a big touchdown. A screen play went badly for the Gators, as the ball went slightly backward, then was dropped, turning into an 18-yard loss and a Mustangs 13-0 lead when Levi Oliveto recovered the ball in the end zone.
“I knew that play was coming. We practiced for it every day,” he said.
Pensyl eventually got going when the rain faded, finishing 21-of-42 for 230 yards and a pair of scores, one in the closing seconds to Kamal Wells. Rashawn Kindell had nine catches for 100 yards and the other Gators touchdown. Ethan Weilant added 68 yards in receptions.
But LOL (2-2) got just three points on two second-half Mitchell fumbles. The Mustangs coughed it up three times in the first half but fell on all three.