Nygel Mitchell’s 276 Yards Rescue St. Michael 34-28 as Gunner Rivers Returns Against Houston Academy

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Gunner Rivers was back under center for St. Michael on Monday, but it was junior running back Nygel Mitchell who rescued the Cardinals. Mitchell carried 34 times for 276 yards and four touchdowns, including a 6-yard run with nine seconds left, as St. Michael held off winless Houston Academy 34-28 in a Private Class AA, Region 1 game that had been bumped, nearly forfeited and finally played on a rare Monday afternoon.

The victory was the fourth straight for St. Michael, which improved to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in region play after an 0-3 start. Houston Academy of Dothan, which pushed the Cardinals to the final seconds, fell to 0-6 overall and 0-5 in the region.

The other makeup game in the area Monday was far less dramatic. Orange Beach bounced back from its first loss of the season by beating Satsuma 38-14 in a Class 4A, Region 1 game, moving the Makos into sole possession of second place in the region standings.

Gunner Rivers returns for four series

The biggest storyline entering the afternoon was whether Gunner Rivers, the North Carolina State commitment and son of St. Michael coach Philip Rivers, would play. The quarterback had been out since injuring his right knee in the first quarter of the season opener against Battle Ground Academy, a private school from Franklin, Tennessee. Rated the top Class of 2027 prospect in Alabama, he had returned to practice the previous week, and his father said in a radio interview last Thursday that his son’s return was “right around the corner.”

He made it back sooner than that. Gunner Rivers started Monday’s game in what his father had said beforehand would be a limited role. Still wearing a knee brace, he played four series and completed 9 of 12 passes for 119 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Howard with 4:59 left in the first quarter that gave the Cardinals their first points. He was sacked once.

Junior Marshall Pitre, who had started at quarterback during Gunner’s absence and led the Cardinals through their three-game winning streak, relieved Rivers late in the first half and finished the game.

Philip Rivers said pulling his son was a difficult decision but the right one.

“Obviously, I didn’t want to see him go down at all, but him getting sacked and getting out of the pocket … He said he felt fine. It was hard to take him out and stick with it, but I think it was what was best for him and, hopefully, we get him going on Friday night.”

Asked whether the plan is for Gunner to play the rest of the season, the coach said it is.

“That’s the plan. I keep reminding myself if he is not right not to push it, but I think he is good to go.”

Mitchell carries the load again

The St. Michael coaching staff had hoped to give Mitchell some rest. Houston Academy did not cooperate.

“No disrespect to them, but I had our young guys ready to go today to try to take a little bit of the load off Nygel with him carrying so many times,” Philip Rivers said. “The game said otherwise so we had to do what we had to do to win.”

Mitchell carried 10 times in the first half and 24 times in the second. His touchdown runs covered 32, 90, 1 and 6 yards. It was his second four-touchdown game in a month; he ran for 240 yards and four scores in St. Michael’s 37-19 win over then-No. 1 Bayside Academy in late September, and he has been the Cardinals’ workhorse since Gunner Rivers went down.

How the game unfolded

St. Michael struck first on the Rivers-to-Howard pass. Houston Academy answered when Ty Morris scored on a 10-yard run, but the extra-point kick was blocked, leaving the Cardinals ahead 7-6. Mitchell scored on a 32-yard run on the final play of the first quarter, then broke a 90-yard touchdown run at the 9:52 mark of the second quarter for a 21-6 lead.

The Raiders did not fold. Quarterback William Haskins threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Guin with 4:15 left in the half, and with 47 seconds remaining he found Wilson Parrish for a 22-yard score. Morris ran in the 2-point conversion to tie the game 21-21 at halftime. Both of those touchdown passes came on long third downs, the first on third-and-17 and the second on third-and-11.

Neither team scored in the third quarter. Parrish intercepted Pitre late in the period for the game’s only turnover.

Houston Academy took its first lead of the afternoon with 9:34 left in the game, when Haskins threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Whit Price to make it 28-21.

The tying drive

St. Michael answered with an eight-play, 58-yard drive. Pitre completed both of his passes on the possession, and Mitchell ran the ball on the other six plays, finishing the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run that tied the game 28-28 with 5:45 to play.

On Houston Academy’s next possession, a 12-yard loss on a botched snap exchange and a sack stalled the drive and forced a punt. St. Michael took over at the Houston Academy 47-yard line.

The winning drive

Mitchell carried on six straight plays, gaining 7, 4, 7, 3 and 3 yards before a 1-yard loss. Facing third-and-8 from the Raiders’ 24, Pitre hit Braedyn Walton for a 12-yard gain to keep the drive alive. Mitchell then ran twice for 6 yards each, the second for the go-ahead touchdown. The try failed after a high snap, but St. Michael led 34-28 with nine seconds left.

Houston Academy had time for one offensive play. Ethan Flowers sacked Haskins to end the game.

Houston Academy’s best effort of the season

Houston Academy entered the afternoon having been outscored 192-30 and having reached double figures only once. On Monday the Raiders scored 28 points against a team riding a three-game winning streak.

Haskins completed 7 of 11 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns. Morris ran for 67 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and added the 2-point conversion before leaving late in the game with an injury.

Philip Rivers credited the Raiders and their coach, Eddie Brundidge.

“Ultimately, we won the game. Maybe it will wake us up a little bit. Credit to them. Coach (Eddie) Brundidge has done a heck of a job for them. It’s been hard I know – playing some of the schools they’ve played and the travel. Credit to him and the boys for how hard they stinkin’ play. They have some dang good football players. We didn’t play our best, but we overcame not playing our best. Maybe this will wake us up. If we play like this on Friday night, we will be in trouble.”

He was blunt about the defensive performance. “They threw three touchdown passes. Not ideal,” he said. “You never want a day like this, but at least we found a way to win and, hopefully, it wakes us up a little and we rebound in a hurry.”

Travel has been a theme of Houston Academy’s season. Dothan sits in the southeastern corner of the state, roughly 200 miles from Mobile, and the Raiders are in the middle of five straight games against Mobile-area opponents. Before Monday, they lost 42-14 at UMS-Wright on Sept. 18 and 42-2 at home to McGill-Toolen on Oct. 1.

A game that nearly did not happen

Monday’s game took a winding route to the field. It was originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9, as St. Michael’s homecoming, then moved up to Thursday, Oct. 8, as nearly every Gulf Coast high school game was shifted ahead of Hurricane Isaias’ landfall.

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, Houston Academy notified St. Michael that it would not make the trip, which would have given the Cardinals a forfeit victory. A day later, after learning that a team forfeiting a region game could be barred from postseason play, Houston Academy reversed course, and the game was reset for Monday afternoon in Fairhope. Houston Academy’s athletic director said the Raiders, who were on fall break, asked to play as early as possible Monday.

The stakes of that reversal are real in the private-school classifications the Alabama High School Athletic Association adopted this season. Every private-school team qualifies for the playoffs, so the regular season largely determines seeding and home-field advantage. Losing postseason eligibility over a forfeit would have ended Houston Academy’s season early.

St. Michael’s homecoming was rescheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, against Montgomery Catholic.

Orange Beach 38, Satsuma 14

In Orange Beach, the Makos returned to their winning ways. Orange Beach had won its first six games of the season before falling 42-0 at No. 1-ranked Williamson. Monday’s win over Satsuma improved the Makos to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Class 4A, Region 1.

That puts Orange Beach alone in second place in the region, behind Williamson (4-0) and ahead of Vigor (3-1). Williamson and Vigor meet Thursday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile in a rematch of last season’s state semifinal, a game that will shape the top of the standings.

It has been a breakthrough season for the Makos under third-year coach Wade Waldrop. Orange Beach had outscored its opponents 216-88 entering Monday, and its unbeaten start earned the Makos a homecoming week celebration on the beach in late September.

Satsuma fell to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the region, tied for fifth place with LeFlore. The Gators have still made a significant jump on offense in Jason Phillips’ first season as head coach. Before Monday, they had already scored 173 points, more than their 144 in all of last season and more than in four of the past six seasons.

Monday’s game, like St. Michael’s, was a casualty of Isaias’ schedule disruptions. Clarke County at Thomasville was also pushed to Monday.

What’s next

The Monday games leave all four local teams with short weeks.

• St. Michael (4-3, 3-2) travels to Phenix City on Friday to face Glenwood (3-4, 1-4), then hosts Montgomery Catholic on Oct. 23 for homecoming and Foley in a non-region game on Oct. 30.
• Houston Academy (0-6, 0-5) returns to Mobile on Friday to play Faith Academy (2-5, 0-5), then hosts St. Paul’s on Oct. 23 and closes the regular season at home against Providence Christian.
• Orange Beach (7-1, 4-1) is off Friday, then plays at Citronelle on Oct. 23 and at Holtville in a non-region game on Oct. 30.
• Satsuma (4-3, 1-3) hosts Citronelle on Friday, plays at Vigor on Oct. 23 and faces Flomaton in a non-region game on Oct. 30.

Philip Rivers said the quick turnaround and the long bus ride to east Alabama will test his team.

“Short week. I don’t mean any disrespect, but we will be a little more banged up and tired than I wanted us to be. It will be a mental week for us physically because we have a four-hour bus ride and some of those guys we have to tackle at Glenwood … I’ve seen them give St. Paul’s and UMS fits. We will have to be ready to do.”

This week’s area schedule

Thursday, Oct. 15

• Vigor vs. Williamson (Ladd-Peebles Stadium)

Friday, Oct. 16

• Baldwin County at Elberta
• Blount at Saraland
• Citronelle at Satsuma
• Cottage Hill Christian at St. Luke’s
• Daphne at Mary G. Montgomery
• Davidson at Fairhope
• Foley at Robertsdale
• Gulf Shores at Spanish Fort
• Houston Academy at Faith Academy
• LeFlore at B.C. Rain
• McGill-Toolen at Montgomery Catholic
• Northside Methodist at Bayshore Christian
• Providence Christian at Snook Christian
• St. Michael at Glenwood
• Theodore at Murphy
• Thomasville at Chickasaw
• UMS-Wright at St. Paul’s

How they scored: St. Michael 34, Houston Academy 28

First quarter

• SM – Anthony Howard 43 pass from Gunner Rivers (kick good), 7-0, 4:59
• HA – Ty Morris 10 run (kick blocked), 7-6, 2:44
• SM – Nygel Mitchell 32 run (kick good), 14-6, 0:00

Second quarter

• SM – Nygel Mitchell 90 run (kick good), 21-6, 9:52
• HA – Daniel Guin 22 pass from William Haskins (kick good), 21-13, 4:15
• HA – Wilson Parrish 22 pass from William Haskins (Ty Morris run), 21-21, 0:47

Fourth quarter

• HA – Whit Price 32 pass from William Haskins (kick good), 28-21, 9:34
• SM – Nygel Mitchell 1 run (kick good), 28-28, 5:45
• SM – Nygel Mitchell 6 run (try failed), 34-28, 0:09

Key individual statistics

• Nygel Mitchell (St. Michael): 34 carries, 276 yards, 4 TDs
• Gunner Rivers (St. Michael): 9 of 12, 119 yards, 1 TD in four series
• Marshall Pitre (St. Michael): 2 of 2 on the tying drive; one interception
• Ethan Flowers (St. Michael): game-ending sack
• William Haskins (Houston Academy): 7 of 11, 138 yards, 3 TDs
• Ty Morris (Houston Academy): 15 carries, 67 yards, 1 TD; 2-point conversion run
• Wilson Parrish (Houston Academy): 22-yard TD catch; interception