Carried by the 308 rushing yards and three touchdowns of Tre Mitchell, the Chapel Hill Panthers won their first region game of the season against Rockmart, 23-22, on Sept. 21.

After winning their season opener 28-0 against Osborne, Chapel Hill lost their next two games as they played Douglas County High and Carrollton. They were able to get another win as they played in their own class again.

“Douglas County is a large 6A school and Carrollton is a big 4A that’s dressing just as many kids as a 6A,” said head football coach Geoff Pastrick.

Despite the size of the opposing teams, Pastrick said his team lost the games because the team lined up wrong against Douglas County and because of penalties in both competitions.

“It was like every time we got something, a penalty brought us back,” Pastrick said.

After these tough losses, Chapel Hill was ready to face Rockmart in a region matchup. Pastrick said his team still did not play a perfect game, but after facing those larger teams, they were able to adjust when they saw their strategy wasn’t working.

“We still had penalties which hurt us, but we were playing level competition. Playing big schools helped because now with level competition we can make adjustments on defense and run the ball,” Pastrick said.

Their passing and rushing yards improved. Against Douglas County, Chapel Hill only passed for 44 yards and rushed for 215. Against Rockmart, they passed for 69 yards and rushed for 313.

With 308 rushing yards on the night, Mitchell collected all but five of the Panthers’ rushing yards and was definitely a key player for the team as he put up 18 of the team’s 23 points.

The Panthers’ defense forced three sacks and a fumble against Rockmart.

Even with such a great night, Pastrick felt kicker Danny Williams saved the game despite scoring only three points.

Williams’ 30-yard field goal was the last time the Panthers would score that night, putting them up by nine points, 23-14. Since Chapel Hill only won by one point, Pastrick definitely appreciates Williams for making that field goal at such a crucial time.

“He kicked the winning field goal,” Pastrick said.