‘Destined to do it’: Freshman quarterback leads East to first 3-0 start since 2008
When the play broke down, Daeonte’ Mitchell scrambled to his right and looked to take off down the field.
For most freshman quarterbacks playing varsity, that would be the end of the play.
But Mitchell kept his eyes locked downfield and noticed his receiver, Caquoy Patterson, running free near the corner of the end zone. Mitchell slung the ball on the run, pinpointing Patterson with a 17-yard touchdown throw just before he ran out of real estate in the side of the end zone.
It’s plays like that why East is off to its first 3-0 start since 2008 and just the third 3-0 start in the last five decades, courtesy of a 16-13 victory over Heights on Friday where Mitchell threw for both of his team’s touchdowns on the road.
Not bad for a freshman.
“Honestly, his family has groomed him for this,” East coach Ene Akpan said. “He’s always been the guy, so this is something that he’s been destined to do.”
“Sometimes we forget he’s a freshman and we want him to do some things that he’s probably not ready for, but he’s got those big boy shoes on so he’s got to grow up quick.”
Mitchell may be a prodigious talent for his age, but that doesn’t mean Akpan and the coaching staff coddles him. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
The East coaches know how talented Mitchell is and they hold him to a higher standard. For example, even though Mitchell threw for a 54-yard touchdown to AJ King to give East an 8-6 halftime lead, Akpan decided to go with the backup quarterback for the first drive of the second half because he was upset that Mitchell was missing reads.
After the backup quarterback threw an interception, Mitchell was reinserted on the next drive and responded to the challenge. He guided East down the field and made it a two-score game with the touchdown throw to Patterson and East scored the two-point conversion for a 16-6 lead with 11:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“My teammates helped me to stay focus and get the job done,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t play the perfect game like we wanted to, but we got the job done. That’s a credit to my teammates. They’re there for me. They hyped me up. They helped me get to where I need to be.”
For Patterson, it was thrilling for him to catch what became the game-winning score.
“After I toe tapped, I looked around to see if there were any flags because any other time I do something good there’s flags everywhere,” Patterson said. “So when I saw there weren’t any, I got really excited.”
Heights, which also entered the game with a 2-0 record, gave East its first real challenge of the season, despite star running back John Randle Jr. being bottled up for the game.
Faced with a 10-point deficit and a fourth down near midfield, Heights quarterback D.J. Dingle delivered his best throw of the game, a 38-yard strike while being hit to Adrian Patterson over the top of the defense to keep the Falcons alive. One player later, Dingle plunged into the end zone for the second time to cut East’s lead to 16-13 with 4:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.
For East, which had outscored its first two opponents 134-0, it was the first adversity of the season.
“Honestly, this was unexpected,” Akpan said. “I didn’t think it was going to be a ball game after watching film. But (Heights) came to play and they did what they’re supposed to do and they made it a ball game. It’s good for our boys to go through something like that.”
The first close game of the season brought out the intensity and passion in the East players and coaching staff alike, as an assistant coach was ejected from the game following a dispute with the referees and the Blue Aces were assessed three personal misconduct penalties in the game.
When East intercepted Heights on the final play of the game to secure its 3-0 start, the Blue Aces rushed the field and their celebration spilled close to the Heights’ sideline.
“Every week someone is telling us we can’t do this, we can’d do that or that we’re thugs and this, that and the other,” Akpan said. “We’re just kids who want to play football too. Just because we come from different circumstances doesn’t mean we’re bad kids. There had been a lot of talk from the kids and administration, so we’re tired of it. East High, now that we’re winning, we’ve got a target on our backs. That’s all that is.”
Heights coach Dominick Dingle said he was proud of his team for keeping its composure following the heated ending between City League rivals.
“We want to be about doing the right thing,” Dingle said. “That’s what we’re in this for. We’re about teaching our kids to do the right thing and we’re going to continue to do the right thing and continue to prepare our kids to be better young men.”
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 8:12 AM.
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