Photography by Owen Jones
If there was ever a perfect time to launch a state championship bid, 2020 wasn’t it. While other private schools were scrimmaging on the gridiron, the Lakehill Preparatory School Warriors were running drills in a park under the supervision of team captains.
The team didn’t have its first official practice until six weeks into the season. Then four of its regular-season games were canceled. The Warriors entered the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools playoff having competed in only two games.
Yet in just his second year as head coach, Jairus Mitchell led Lakehill to its first football state championship in the school’s 49-year history.
“It almost felt like it was an impossible task,” Mitchell says. “Playing only two games, we didn’t have an opportunity to learn from our mistakes. I think it’s a testament to those boys’ character and willingness to do whatever they had to do to win the game. They stayed ready.”
Mitchell has made an immediate impact since arriving at Lakehill two years ago. In 2019, he led the team to the Division II six-man championship game, and the team ended the season as runner-up.
“Doing it a second time is harder because you’ve got people looking at you,” Mitchell says. “My call to them was to do it for the community. A lot of kids are from Lakewood. They grew up together. Other private schools don’t have that. We’re from here, and we’re working hard. They bought into that.”
He also coached the middle school boys and girls basketball teams to district championships and is preparing to lead the softball team this spring. Coaches and athletes are required to wear masks at all times, whether they’re competing or on the sideline. Fan attendance is limited to allow for social distancing.
Coaching multiple teams — and teaching physical education — during COVID was a whole new ball game for Mitchell. He says he couldn’t have done it without the support of his wife, Stephanie Ann. If he’s head coach of Team Mitchell, then she’s the general manager in charge of wrangling the couple’s 5-year-old, 2-year-old and 7-month-old. Her hard work makes the long hours of practice and late-night games possible, he says.
“It’s a matter of working hard so the [kids] can be happy,” Mitchell says. “They really want to play. The next three, four, five years, it’s winning time.”
