Kernel Gameday: Mitchell football sets sights on Spearfish for first road trip
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 3—MITCHELL — Coming off a season-opening home win, the Mitchell High School football team heads west for a meeting with Spearfish on Friday night.
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On Thursday afternoon, Spearfish and Mitchell announced the game is being moved back one hour due to expected heat index values.
Here's what to know ahead of the Kernels' first road trip of the year:
When: 8 p.m. Central, Friday.
Where: Lyle Hare Stadium at Black Hills State University, Spearfish.
Records: Mitchell 1-0; Spearfish 0-1.
Last meeting: Spearfish defeated Mitchell 42-16 on Sept. 12, 2025, at Lyle Hare Stadium, a contest that was delayed 3 1/2 hours due to lightning.
Series history: Mitchell leads the series 12-4 since 1981. ... Mitchell won 10 games in a row over Spearfish from 2013 to 2021 before Spearfish won three of the last four. ... Mitchell is looking for its first road victory at Spearfish since a 17-3 win in 2019.
Last week: Mitchell kicked off its season by earning a 28-13 Eastern South Dakota Conference win over Brookings. Spearfish made the nearly 400-mile trip to Watertown, but a slow start spoiled their chances, and a comeback came up short in a 26-20 loss.
Notes:
* In this week's South Dakota Prep Media poll for Class 11AA, Spearfish received two votes but landed outside the top five, while Mitchell did not receive any votes. This week's Class 11AA top five are, in order: Pierre, Yankton, Tea Area, Watertown and Huron.
* Other Class 11AA matchups this week include: Pierre at Yankton; Tea Area at Aberdeen; Watertown at Brookings; Huron at Douglas; Rapid City Central (11AAA) at Sturgis.
About the Kernels:
* Mitchell churned out 303 rushing yards in its opener, spread between six ball carriers. Samari Wright broke out for 135 yards on just four carries and was one of four Kernels to score a rushing touchdown, joined by Lawson LeBrun, Brady Hoesing and Mason Kempf.
* The Kernel defense allowed 259 total yards to Brookings last week, and almost exactly half of that came on two explosive plays. As a team, Mitchell had six tackles for loss, with three by Rocky Clark. Kyson Herrmann added an interception.
* Special teams, which was up and down for MHS in 2025, started strong against the Bobcats. First-time kicker Gavin Zilla was 4-for-4 on extra points and averaged better than 51 yards per kickoff. Matt Peterson offered a blocked punt that set up the Kernels' first touchdown.
* Despite the lopsided margin of the 2025 meeting, Mitchell actually out-gained Spearfish 307-284 in the contest. However, special teams tilted the game heavily in the Spartans' favor.
About the Spartans:
* Spearfish's core of returning players is highlighted by senior Thomas Hughes, who was the Class 11AA all-state quarterback last season. The dual-threat signal-caller passed for nearly 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns while adding more than 700 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He accounted for five of those 22 total touchdowns in the win over Mitchell. In last week's opener, Hughes had 262 passing yards and a touchdown with 51 rushing yards.
* Also back for the Spartans is all-state receiver Kade Vavruska, who tallied 672 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns last season. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound target opened the season with eight receptions for 132 yards last week.
* Spearfish graduated 14 seniors from the 2025 squad, which started the season 5-2 before losing its final three games. The Spartans were 4-1 at home a season ago.
* By points per game, Spearfish had the No. 4 offense (23.9) and No. 3 defense (16.5) in Class 11AA in 2025.
Next: The 11th annual Kernel Bowl comes up on Saturday, Sept. 12, with Mitchell hosting Douglas. Spearfish visits Class 11AAA Rapid City Stevens for the Rushmore Bowl on Friday, Sept. 11.