By: Chris Iseman / Record Sports
Two weeks was all Elijah Mitchell needed.
He was hooked.
Mitchell was in eighth grade and playing football for the first time. As soon as he scored his first touchdown for his Pop Warner team in Passaic, Mitchell knew he wanted to pursue the sport.
It made him tough. He was good at it. He enjoyed being on the field.
“I just wanted to keep doing it,” Mitchell said.
Four years later, Mitchell is now a star running back for Wallington’s football team. A power back, the rising senior split responsibilities in the backfield the past three seasons with Robbie Radlove. Now with Radlove having graduated, Mitchell is ready to grab the spotlight and establish himself as the Panthers’ playmaker.
“It’s a humbling experience,” said Mitchell, who carried the ball 122 times for 789 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior.
That Mitchell has achieved this amount of success doesn’t necessarily surprise Wallington head coach Barry Blauvelt.
Mitchell’s athletic ability was apparent as soon as Mitchell came in as a freshman. He then made the improvements he needed to make off the field.
“His work ethic may not have been the greatest when he came in as a freshman, but over the last three years and continuing into this year, his work ethic just kept increasing, increasing, increasing in the weight room,” Blauvelt said. “He’s by far this year the strongest kid on the team.”
The defenses tasked with trying to stop him have learned that the hard way. Mitchell runs right through them.
“His body type, he’s like a bowling ball,” Blauvelt said.
That’s exactly the type of back Mitchell wants to be.
“I try to be a power runner, make sure no one stops me, run hard,” Mitchell said. “My goal for every game is to have more than 100 yards rushing.”
Mitchell hit the 100-yard mark three times last season.
He ran for 173 yards on 16 carries against Weehawken. In an incredible performance, Mitchell racked up 201 yards on 25 carries with three scores against Secaucus. And two games later, Mitchell carried the ball 17 times for 199 yards in a season-ending performance.
Those are the types of games Blauvelt and the Panthers’ coaches are looking for Mitchell to have consistently as a senior, especially with an experienced offensive line blocking for him up front.
“We feel that with the offensive line we do have coming back, we have a lot of experience up there, that he can be our workhorse and put up 150, 200 yards a game,” Blauvelt said. “Because it’s going to take two or three guys to take him down.”
Mitchell’s also a versatile player on defense. He’s spent time at linebacker and defensive end over the past three seasons, and Blauvelt said could be used as a defensive tackle this year.
No matter where he plays, Mitchell’s ready to take on the role of a team leader, something he’s been preparing for.
He learned while watching Radlove.
“I’m willing to take on the role as a leader and also the playmaker of the team,” Mitchell said. “I just want to carry that on and hopefully the next guy can do the same.”
The kid with what Blauvelt calls a “million-dollar smile” has already impressed his coaches.
Playmaker. Leader.
This is what Mitchell has worked for over the past four years.
“I just want to make the playoffs and make my team known again,” Mitchell said.
