It was the Nick Mitchell show on Friday night.
A strong, versatile running back, Mitchell registered his best performance yet in a Glasgow uniform – rushing for 291 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries to lead the Scotties to a 28-7 win over Allen County-Scottsville at Hank Royse Stadium.
“Nick … he’s a horse, man,” Glasgow coach Jeff Garmon said of Mitchell. “We give him the ball and he runs downhill – and he’s good at it.”
Although the spotlight was all over Mitchell, the junior was quick to credit his stout offensive line – which includes Alabama commit Tanner Bowles – for allowing him to have the game he did.
“My offensive line. I just kept running behind them, and I knew they were going to keep trucking,” Mitchell said. “I just had to do the same.”
Mitchell scored his first touchdown in the second quarter and tacked on two more in the fourth. He fumbled on the fifth play of the Scotties’ opening drive, but quickly made up for it by running for 172 yards in the first half.
Along with Mitchell’s performance, junior quarterback Tanner Abernathy ran for 94 yards and a TD while finishing 4-of-11 for 48 yards passing to keep Glasgow’s record unscathed at 4-0 on the season.
“I was really pleased with our performance,” Garmon said. “I thought we had some good individual performances, and I thought our offensive line played really, really well. Our defense showed up again this week.”
While the Scotties played well offensively, their defense also played a significant role in limiting Allen County-Scottsville’s chances.
The Patriots (3-1) had 3rd and Goal at the three yard-line near the end of the second quarter, but Glasgow was able to force a fumble and prevent ACS from scoring before halftime.
While Allen County-Scottsville finally found an answer with just seconds remaining to make it 28-7, it watched three red zone trips result in either fumbles or turnovers on downs on the night.
“We dialed up some plays – and made ‘em,” said Garmon. “That’s what it’s all about. There’s plays out there in a game to be made and the team that makes ‘em usually wins, and I thought tonight we were the ones that made the plays.”
After the first six drives of the game resulted in four punts, a fumble and a turnover on downs, Glasgow put together the first successful series.
On a nine-play drive that consisted of eight runs – seven of which came from Mitchell for 76 yards – the running back scored from 17 yards out to give the Scotties a 6-0 lead at the 8:56 mark of the second – and that score remained the same at the break.
“It feels good learning from all of the coaches – and I hope I just get to continue what I’m doing,” said Mitchell.
Abernathy’s score came on a three-yard run near the end of the third quarter. Following five runs for 56 yards by Mitchell – and a 23-yard gain by Abernathy – the quarterback kept it himself and crossed the pylon to record Glasgow’s second TD. A successful two-point conversion try made it 14-0.
Touchdown runs of two and nine yards by Mitchell in the fourth quarter pushed the Scotties’ advantage to 28-0 before Allen County-Scottsville quarterback Trace McIntrye scored on a one-yard run with eight seconds left to give the final score of 28-7.
Glasgow returns to action next Friday at 7 p.m. against Warren East (2-2) at Royse Stadium. Allen County-Scottsville travels to Pulaski County (2-2) next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“Every win is good to me. I don’t put any win over any other ones,” Garmon said. “They all mean something. We’ll celebrate tonight and go back to work tomorrow and get ready for Warren East.”
ACS – 0 0 0 7
GHS – 0 6 8 14
Second quarter
GHS – Mitchell 17-yard run (PAT no good)
Third quarter
GHS – Abernathy 3-yard run (Two-point conversion good)
Fourth quarter
GHS – Mitchell 2-yard run (PAT good)
GHS – Mitchell 9-yard run (PAT good)
ACS – McIntyre 1-yard run (PAT good)
