Springs Valley Community High School

Coming out of last football season, Keaton Pritchett was in a pretty good spot. Not only had he earned himself a starting spot as a sophomore, he’d become a key player for Mitchell. He was the Bluejackets’ top receiver and showed a knack for making plays as a defensive back, leading the team in interceptions with three. Then a handful of things changed for him in a matter of months. His father retired from coaching after eight seasons as the head football coach at Mitchell, then decided to step away from being the high school principal at Mitchell to take the assistant principal position at Springs Valley, his alma mater. From there, Pritchett had a decision to make: would he also be headed to Springs Valley? After some consideration he decided it would be best for him to do just that. “I was disappointed at first just because I loved playing for him, having him as a coach,” Pritchett said, “but then I realized that I’d probably have better opportunities down here and it’d be a lot easier for me and the rest of the family so I came down here. For second-year Springs Valley football coach Jason Lowe, the news that he’d be adding an all-area honoree to his squad was well-received even though he wasn’t very familiar with his newest player. “Well, Keaton may not want to hear this but the only thing I could go off of was interactions I'd had with his brothers,” Lowe said. “I was fortunate to have Cade in class and coach him for one year and I also had Dane in class. They were great boys that I really enjoyed being around so I figured Keaton would also fit that bill.” Transferring to a new school can be a hard thing to do, especially when it comes to fitting into new surroundings. Pritchett knew some people at Springs Valley beforehand, which helped, and he’s managed to slide right in and become a part of the Blackhawks’ unit pretty seamlessly. According to the junior, his teammates were a big part of making his transition easy. “I just feel like they let me fit in. They made me feel like I was part of the team,” Pritchett said. “They’re always cheering me on and stuff. They always let me know that I’m doing good. They’re a good team.” That’s all a part of the culture that Lowe has tried to build during his time with the program. He wants his players to love each other and love playing football. So far, this group has shown both of those attributes. “I really do think our kids love playing football together. That is definitely the vibe they have given off up to this point,” Lowe said. “There never seems to be any jealousy or anything like that between our guys. They just love competing with one another.” When Pritchett takes the field on Friday, he’ll be presented with a peculiar situation for a high school athlete. Springs Valley is playing host to Mitchell, meaning that he’ll get a chance to play against his former teammates. Despite what could be a distraction for him, Lowe seems to think that Pritchett’s calm, cool demeanor will keep him locked in on what he needs to accomplish on Friday night. “With what little bit I know about Keaton he’ll seem like the exact same kid you saw at Eastern Greene last week. He’ll give us his very best effort and he’ll be a great teammate,” Lowe said. “He's not the kind of kid that's going to be too jacked up or too low, he's one of the calmest kids I've ever coached and we’re all thankful we have him.” For Pritchett’s part, he does acknowledge that it will be a little odd lining up across from the guys he’s spent the last couple of seasons playing with. He expects that novelty to wear off quickly though because he and his teammates have a job to do. “It’s going to be weird, but I just have to look at it as another game,” Pritchett said. “We’ve got to go out there, fire on all cylinders, and beat them, take it to them.” The Blackhawks and Bluejackets will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Springs Valley.