Isom, McCraw brothers shine as Mtchell County wraps up spring football

CAMILLA — With a championship trophy still fresh from the state track and field finals, Mitchell County’s multi-sport athletes returned to the gridiron Friday night for one final test of the spring — and they passed with grit and flashes of big-play potential.

Hosting a three-team jamboree with Dougherty and Randolph-Clay, the Eagles tied the Trojans 14-14 and edged the Red Devils 6-0 in back-to-back matchups that marked the end of spring practice.

“I was really proud of our guys and the effort they showed on the field,” Head Coach Dondrial Pinkins said. “A lot of them just came off a state championship run in track. I try not to bother them during track season, so most of those players had just three full practices and a walk-through before this. For them to compete like they did shows how hard they’ve worked this spring.”

After Dougherty blanked Randolph-Clay 14-0 to open the night, Mitchell County took the field against the Trojans and struck early. Quarterback Jonathan Isom engineered a quick drive capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass to Darius Robinson. He followed it up with a two-point conversion pass to Marcus Vicks, putting the Eagles up 8-0.

Dougherty answered with a big strike to even the score, but Mitchell County didn’t flinch.

Running back Quinton McCraw barreled through defenders on a bruising run up the middle, dragging tacklers and pushing the Eagles deep into Trojan territory. Two plays later, Isom took it himself around the right side for another score.

The Trojans managed to tie the game again with a 70-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Micah Joyner to quarterback-turned-receiver David Burgess. Joyner scrambled away from pressure and launched the deep ball, though Mitchell County coaches believed he had crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing the pass.

“We let them get a couple of big plays, but that’s something we can work on,” Pinkins said. “Otherwise, our defense played really well. Our guys were flying to the ball.”

In their final scrimmage of the evening, the Eagles faced Randolph-Clay and needed just one big connection to seal it. Quarterback Jerron Grissom found Quintavious McCraw — Quinton’s younger brother — for the game’s only touchdown.

“There are definitely areas we need to improve,” Pinkins noted. “We’ve got to clean up our timing on offense, and Isom has to get more commanding with his guys, but again — he only had three days of work. The effort and preparation they’ve put in during the offseason really showed.”

Before calling it a night, Pinkins made sure to thank those who helped bring the event together.

“I need to give a shout-out to my administrators and everyone who worked the gates and made this happen,” he said. “This is the last big event of the school year other than honors day and graduation. Everybody’s ready to pack up and go, so I really appreciate everyone’s hard work and the fans who came out to support their kids.”