Stefan Mitchell brought the excitement back to North Carroll football this season.
Known for his strong arm and touch on deep balls, Mitchell threw for 1,795 yards and 19 touchdowns, helping the Panthers to an 8-3 mark, their best record since 1978.
The senior turned 17 on Thursday and received a well-deserved birthday gift by winning a share of the Monocacy Valley Athletic League's Chesapeake Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, sharing the award with Linganore receiver C.J. Thomas.
As he works on nailing down his college selection, Mitchell can now reflect a bit on the season that was, as well his plans for the future.
You led North Carroll to its first winning season in more than a decade, as well as its best record since 1978. Were you surprised with how much your team improved this season?
We set our goals high, but I don't think anyone was expecting to start off 7-0 and play with a lot of the Frederick County teams, like Linganore and Urbana. We wanted to go into those games thinking we could win. We didn't win those, but we felt really good with ourselves throughout the season.
It used to be that most of the students at North Carroll were fairly apathetic about the football team, and a lot of the better athletes chose not to play. Do you think your performance this season has changed the mind-set of your fellow students?
Definitely. I remember when I was in 10th grade, and I was on varsity. We'd have some home games where we really wouldn't have a lot of people at all. Then last year for homecoming against Tuscarora, there were a lot of people. This year for homecoming, there were just so many people -- I've never seen so many people at any athletic event at North Carroll High. All the stands were packed and every spot around the fence was packed. There was a lot of support because we were doing well, which is a new thing. It made people want to come out to watch.
Is it possible for you and your teammates at this point to step back and get a sense of just how much you accomplished?
I don't think anybody has honestly done that yet. I think people are still sorrowful about the fact that we lost [in the Class 4A playoffs]. Maybe when they're playing another sport and they don't do so well, they'll think, 'Hey, we were county champions' or 'Hey, we started 7-0.' Then they'll realize that we actually had a good team. Even though we didn't do what we wanted to do, we still accomplished all of our smaller goals.
Evaluate your growth as a quarterback. What areas have you improved upon?
I started taking what the defense gave me. Last year, I just liked to throw the ball up -- I threw the deep ball a lot to [receiver] Mike Roberts. This year, I calmed down and threw more of the short routes, which let the defenders come up. Then I stretched them out deep after that. I tried to work on not having as many turnovers. I had nine interceptions last year and six this year. It was a lot of stuff that I knew I could improve on over the offseason just by watching film.
Do you plan to play in college? If so, where is the college selection process right now?
Yeah, I want to go to college, but I don't really know 100 percent where I'm going, at all. I'm talking to Bucknell and Villanova, but I've also been talking to the Frostburg coach a lot. He came to our school [Wednesday].
Do you play other sports, as well?
I run track in the winter. I run the 4x200, 4x400 and 300 hurdles.
Is track something you've always done, or did you start it at some point to keep in shape for football?
The football coach was also the track coach when I was in 10th grade, and that's how I got to be quarterback. During track one day, he just made me throw a football, and from then I was the quarterback. I guess in a way I do it to keep in shape for the next season. After football, I didn't play basketball, so I wouldn't do anything for that whole season. Track was a way to get back into shape for football the next year.
When you're not playing sports, what else do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?
In my neighborhood we play backyard football, video games and box a lot. We put on boxing gloves, go into the basement and box.
Do you usually win?
I'm pretty good. I'll box people who don't weigh as much as me. Then there are people who are bigger than me, but not necessarily taller. Honestly, we haven't done that in a while, but we used to box in the neighborhood.
Do you think that helped give you any extra toughness for football?
I'll get hit hard and I'll just laugh it off. I'm always laughing. In practice, I'll throw a pick and laugh at it.
Is there a particular area that you'd like to study in college?
Business. I have business classes now. It's just a mode to the money -- become an entrepreneur, start your own business, turn that business into something big, expand it into a franchise. Then, hey, you're a multi-millionaire.
Known for his strong arm and touch on deep balls, Mitchell threw for 1,795 yards and 19 touchdowns, helping the Panthers to an 8-3 mark, their best record since 1978.
The senior turned 17 on Thursday and received a well-deserved birthday gift by winning a share of the Monocacy Valley Athletic League's Chesapeake Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors, sharing the award with Linganore receiver C.J. Thomas.
As he works on nailing down his college selection, Mitchell can now reflect a bit on the season that was, as well his plans for the future.
You led North Carroll to its first winning season in more than a decade, as well as its best record since 1978. Were you surprised with how much your team improved this season?
We set our goals high, but I don't think anyone was expecting to start off 7-0 and play with a lot of the Frederick County teams, like Linganore and Urbana. We wanted to go into those games thinking we could win. We didn't win those, but we felt really good with ourselves throughout the season.
It used to be that most of the students at North Carroll were fairly apathetic about the football team, and a lot of the better athletes chose not to play. Do you think your performance this season has changed the mind-set of your fellow students?
Definitely. I remember when I was in 10th grade, and I was on varsity. We'd have some home games where we really wouldn't have a lot of people at all. Then last year for homecoming against Tuscarora, there were a lot of people. This year for homecoming, there were just so many people -- I've never seen so many people at any athletic event at North Carroll High. All the stands were packed and every spot around the fence was packed. There was a lot of support because we were doing well, which is a new thing. It made people want to come out to watch.
Is it possible for you and your teammates at this point to step back and get a sense of just how much you accomplished?
I don't think anybody has honestly done that yet. I think people are still sorrowful about the fact that we lost [in the Class 4A playoffs]. Maybe when they're playing another sport and they don't do so well, they'll think, 'Hey, we were county champions' or 'Hey, we started 7-0.' Then they'll realize that we actually had a good team. Even though we didn't do what we wanted to do, we still accomplished all of our smaller goals.
Evaluate your growth as a quarterback. What areas have you improved upon?
I started taking what the defense gave me. Last year, I just liked to throw the ball up -- I threw the deep ball a lot to [receiver] Mike Roberts. This year, I calmed down and threw more of the short routes, which let the defenders come up. Then I stretched them out deep after that. I tried to work on not having as many turnovers. I had nine interceptions last year and six this year. It was a lot of stuff that I knew I could improve on over the offseason just by watching film.
Do you plan to play in college? If so, where is the college selection process right now?
Yeah, I want to go to college, but I don't really know 100 percent where I'm going, at all. I'm talking to Bucknell and Villanova, but I've also been talking to the Frostburg coach a lot. He came to our school [Wednesday].
Do you play other sports, as well?
I run track in the winter. I run the 4x200, 4x400 and 300 hurdles.
Is track something you've always done, or did you start it at some point to keep in shape for football?
The football coach was also the track coach when I was in 10th grade, and that's how I got to be quarterback. During track one day, he just made me throw a football, and from then I was the quarterback. I guess in a way I do it to keep in shape for the next season. After football, I didn't play basketball, so I wouldn't do anything for that whole season. Track was a way to get back into shape for football the next year.
When you're not playing sports, what else do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?
In my neighborhood we play backyard football, video games and box a lot. We put on boxing gloves, go into the basement and box.
Do you usually win?
I'm pretty good. I'll box people who don't weigh as much as me. Then there are people who are bigger than me, but not necessarily taller. Honestly, we haven't done that in a while, but we used to box in the neighborhood.
Do you think that helped give you any extra toughness for football?
I'll get hit hard and I'll just laugh it off. I'm always laughing. In practice, I'll throw a pick and laugh at it.
Is there a particular area that you'd like to study in college?
Business. I have business classes now. It's just a mode to the money -- become an entrepreneur, start your own business, turn that business into something big, expand it into a franchise. Then, hey, you're a multi-millionaire.