By 
Jayshawn Mitchell whipped his head around as Harlan defenders faded into the background. It was only a matter of time before he found himself in the end zone.
The No. 1 junior running back in the nation broke loose for a 93-yard touchdown run that set the tone in Brennan's 30-3 win over Harlan on Friday night at Farris Stadium.
"I just tried to keep going," Mitchell said of the long run. "They were pretty close, but I got up out of there and scored."
The matchup between Harlan and Brennan determined a district champion for the fourth year in a row. Friday's victory in the regular season fianle gave Brennan the District 29-6A title, the Bears' first district championship since 2024.
"We played hard the whole entire game," Mitchell said. "We came out with the dub, and it was just amazing."
Brennan head coach Stephen Basore had nothing but praise for the four-star recruit, who received offers to play at LSU and USC earlier this week.
"He's just special, and it's not rocket science," the coach said.
Brennan moves to 9-1 on the season, while Harlan drops to 8-2 before the playoffs get started next week. Basore said he expects his team to face Laredo LBJ next Thursday at Farris Stadium in the first round of the postseason.
Harlan defeated Brennan for last year's district championship, something that the Bears kept at the top of their minds and used as motivation.
"They dominated us in physicality and mentality," Brennan junior linebacker Johnas Brewster said of last year's game. "We all got flags. They were taunting us, and we fell for the bait. But this time, we came out, played hard and got our work done."
Offensive drives in the first quarter came up empty for both teams until Harlan senior kicker Carlos Cartagena nailed a 38-yard field goal attempt with 3:30 remaining. Harlan's lead was short-lived as Brennan senior kicker Axton Parra hit a 36-yard field goal to tie the game with 10:19 left until halftime.
But Brennan really started gaining momentum when junior defensive back Josiah Tolefree recovered a Harlan fumble to get the Bears' offense back on the field. Mitchell's 93-yard touchdown run came on the very next play.
Tolefree made another big play in the second quarter with an interception of Harlan's Bryant Enriquez, returning the ball 18 yards. Parra kicked another field goal on the ensuing drive, this time from 37 yards out to close out the first half.
"I think we got comfortable kind of mid-first quarter, second quarter and things started going well for us" Basore said.
The Bears did not ease up on the Hawks in the third quarter. An explosive 39-yard run by Mitchell put Brennan on Harlan's 3-yard line. Senior quarterback Jeremiah Conwell capitalized on the very next play with a quick 3-yard touchdown run.
Conwell connected with senior Aiden Martin on a 29-yard pass later in the quarter, which set up junior wide receiver Nicholas Oliver for a 1-yard rushing score on the next play with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter.
While Brennan dominated Friday's game in front of a crowd of 7,369 people, the Bears are ready to move forward into next week's playoffs.
"Our biggest thing is staying healthy," Mitchell said. "Keep practicing hard and just treat every game like it's our last game. I mean, it can be. So we've just got to treat it like it's our last game. We come out, play hard, and we should have no reason why we should lose."
Subscribe
There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at Brennan downs Harlan in regular season finale for District 29-6A title.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/brennan-downs-harlan-regular-season-064227034.html
