By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
To coach Mitch Mitchener, the full emphasis for Eastern Ala-mance’s football team this week is getting into the win column.
The task happens to come at Western Alamance, the first-year Eagles coach’s alma mater and the school where he has had two tours, including last season, as an assistant football coach.
“It’s about the kids,” Mitchener said. “It’s about the Eastern Alamance Eagles wanting to go out and win a conference game.”
The Eagles (0-4) will be in their Central 3-A Conference opener Thursday night, while Western (4-1 overall, 1-0 Central 3-A Conference) holds a four-game winning streak.
Games between the rivals often have been tightly contested.
This year, the Eagles are looking for a breakthrough.
“It’s about getting a win for our seniors,” Mitchener said. “They’ve been keeping our guys up.”
Mitchener holds deep roots at Western as a former standout linebacker before assistant coaching roles there. He said he owes much of his development to former coach Hal Capps, who he played under, and current coach Jeff Snuffer, who he coached under.
“That place did everything for me,” he said.
Mitchener has been on the opposing sideline at Western before when in 2022 he was an Eastern Guilford assistant coach before returning the next year for his second go-around as a Western assistant.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been on the visiting side,” he said. “Sometimes it can be odd seeing the game from the other side.”
Western won that 2022 game vs. Eastern Guilford by 28-26.
With the Eagles off last week, several staff members, though not Mitchener, attended Western’s victory at Orange.
With conference games ahead after a non-league slate against powerhouse opponents, the Eagles aim for a change of fortunes.
“We feel very confident about it,” Mitchener said. “I like the way things are progressing. There are signs of progress, but we want to see more.”
