All-Public League running back Reggie Mitchell adds defense to his repertoire, leads Amundsen past Taft

Reggie Mitchell was one of the best running backs in the city last season, a first team All-Public League selection. The swift, powerful senior is even more influential for Amundsen this year. He’s now a factor on defense as well, starting at defensive end.

“When [Mitchell] is on the field, he makes a huge difference,” Vikings coach Nick Olson said. “We’ve been banged up all year. We have linebackers out. We’ve been plugging and going. This year we have to play him both ways. We have no choice. We don’t have the extra bodies.”

Mitchell was a force on defense and scored a touchdown in Amundsen’s 28-6 win against Taft at Winnemac Stadium on Thursday.

“Playing defense is a way different experience than offense,” Mitchell said. “I like to go get them now.”

Mitchell had 13 carries for 82 yards and a 29-yard TD. The emergence of senior Jose Rios at running back has helped allow Mitchell to play defense. Rios had seven carries for 39 yards.

Amundsen (2-3, 1-2 Public Metro) picked up a forfeit win in Week 1 and then lost to Leo, King and Kenwood. That’s a month of football games without an on-field win.

“It was tough,” Mitchell said. “We had a great offseason. Everyone was working out in the weight room. I’m not sure what was going on with us. We were really down.”

The Vikings held Taft (1-4, 0-3) to 15 total yards of offense in the first half and led 21-0.

“We knew they liked to get out to the perimeter with their quarterback and throw on the run,” Olson said. “We wanted to take that away and we wanted to force them to run the ball. We were able to get them into that situation.”

Amundsen starting quarterback Smith Beeson was injured for the first three weeks of the season. He returned last week against Kenwood and settled into a nice groove in the second quarter against Taft.

Beeson was 13-for-20 for 166 yards with two touchdowns. He connected with seven receivers and threw a 68-yard TD pass to Jasper Carlson (two catches, 75 yards) and a 31-yard TD to Wyatt Perry (four catches, 54 yards).

“Football is the one thing in this country that we haven’t made easy,” Olson said. “You have to put in the work. You have to do the right things on and off the field, pay attention to the details. We’ve been struggling with being consistent. Now that we have this win under our belt, momentum is contagious, whether good or bad. Hopefully we can build off it and stay hungry.”

Taft moved the ball more in the second half. Sophomore running back Eddie Salinas finished with 12 carries for 65 yards. The Eagles scored on a six-yard run by senior Dean Parker in the last minute.

“We had a good idea what they were doing,” Taft coach Zach Elder said. “We were a little beat up after last week. There was nothing that surprised us. We just couldn’t get it executed in the first half.”

Both teams face major challenges next week. Amundsen faces Simeon, and Taft takes on Kenwood.

“I’m glad that [Mitchell] is graduating, that’s for sure,” Elder said. “He’s been a huge plus for them. He’s a great player and has helped elevate their program.”