A few years ago, Reggie Mitchell was a well-known youth football star at Welles Park on the North Side. It’s a testament to the growth of Nick Olson’s football program that the running back decided to attend Amundsen.
“I did my research before I picked a high school, and I liked how [Olson] took them from losing every game to winning more and more,” Mitchell said. “That said a lot about the culture. At the Catholic schools, they think they’re better than everyone. We’re kinda the underdogs, and there is a real family feel.”
Mitchell was unstoppable on Saturday against Hyde Park. The junior scored five touchdowns in the Vikings’ 41-18 victory at Winnemac Park.
“We expect Reggie to make big plays,” Olson said. “He had an injury over the summer and missed Week 1. He was kind of shaking off some rust last week, and this was the game where he got comfortable, and you could really see that with him hitting the holes and giving us that extra burst on [offense].”
Mitchell had 156 yards on 14 carries.
Hyde Park (0-3) led 6-0 early. Junior Amarion Parker intercepted Amundsen quarterback Elmir Gjeka’s first pass of the game. The Thunderbirds cashed it in a few plays later on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jakhai McCormick to Rashad Simmons.
Mitchell scored the next four touchdowns.
All-Public League lineman Derrick Weems is a force on both sides of the ball for the Vikings (3-0). He had a sack and two tackles for loss.
“[Weems] and I have known each other since first grade,” Mitchell said. “We grew up together, and it’s special, getting to run behind him. I don’t think they were ready to handle how good he is.”
Gjeka was 8-for-11 for 117 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. Junior receiver Wyatt Perry had three receptions for 56 yards for Amundsen, and Jasper Carlson caught the touchdown pass.
The Vikings beat Niles North in Week 1 and Leo in Week 2. Many Public League schools can go years without defeating a suburban team or a Catholic League opponent, so that’s an impressive start. Olson has guided Amundsen to the state playoffs in five of his nine seasons. The Vikings haven’t won a playoff game.
Reggie Mitchell with a 9-yard TD run, his third of the game. Amundsen leads Hyde Park 19-6 in the 2Q. pic.twitter.com/IDvq0bc2gH
— Michael O’Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 14, 2024
“We came out a little lackadaisical today,” Olson said. “Throughout the week of practice, there were things the coaches were correcting. We need to tighten things up if we’re going to compete against Taft next week.”
McCormick, a junior, also had a 45-yard touchdown run for Hyde Park.
“We have to get better at the finer points of the game,” Thunderbirds coach Douglas Hicks said. “The game is still about running, blocking and tackling, and [Amundsen] did that better than us.”
Hyde Park is on its third coach in three years.
“They got the right person now,” Hicks said. “This isn’t a stepping-stone job for me. I’m going to turn this into the job that everybody else wants.’’