Penn Hills running back Naytel Mitchell thrives in workhorse role

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, October 20, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Penn Hills football coach Charles Morris told Naytel Mitchell during exit meetings last year that he expected a lot from the senior linebacker/running back.

When the Indians have needed Mitchell down the stretch, all of that hard work has seemingly paid off. Mitchell piled up 187 yards on the ground during Penn Hill’s 42-34 win over Mt. Lebanon on Oct. 11.

Mitchell has rushed for a team-high 867 yards and scored 11 touchdowns this season.

“I told him you are going to have to do some heavy lifting in the offseason and prepare your mind and body for 10 games of hard work,” Morris said. “He was ready for the challenge. He had to bust his butt in the offseason. He gained 10 pounds of muscle and didn’t lose any speed.”

Throughout the season, Penn Hills has been able to lean on a number of experienced players to get them out of any different situations.

Penn Hills’ win over Mt. Lebanon was the third time the Indians scored 40 or more points this season. They had avoided being involved in high-scoring affairs since losing their season opener 36-30 to Susquehanna.

Morris said Penn Hills didn’t mind having nonconference games like they did against Mt. Lebanon and North Hills to break up the conference slate.

“We take it week by week,” Morris said. “We take every game seriously. We’re not looking ahead. We knew Mt. Lebanon was going to be physical. They are better than what their record shows. We watch film and know each matchup is unique and different.”

Mitchell helped bring continuity to Penn Hills’ offense while the Indians broke in a new quarterback.

“Naytel is a straight dog,” Morris said. “He’s a top five player in the WPIAL. He continues to show that week by week on both sides of the football.”

Penn Hills (4-4, 2-1) has overcome some of its growing pains early in the season and is in a good spot to compete for second place in the Northeast Conference.

Penn Hills had a matchup with North Hills on Oct. 18 to determine second behind Pine-Richland. Results from that game were too late for this edition. After starting the season 0-3, Penn Hills four of its next five games.

“We always go back and try to see why things are happening,” Morris said. “We have simplified some things. We worked on ball security in some areas and cleaned up alignment issues. We needed to stay consistent with tackling.”

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