It was a vicious block that still rings in the memory of both players.
"He's always been the hitter," East ºüÀêÊÓƵ senior TaRyan Martin said. "I remember he got me back on a crack-back block in eighth grade."
Mekhi Mixon just laughed when he heard his current teammate recall that hit as a middle school athlete.
"It was an outside zone play. He was trying to make the block in the open field, and I just kind of took his helmet off," Mixon said. "I didn't expect we'd be teammates back then. Now we laugh and joke about it."
Though he toyed with the idea of playing on the offensive side of the ball, Mixon was always destined to be an athlete who dished out the punishments.
"When he comes downhill, you feel it," Martin said.
The No. 22 recruit on the Post-Dispatch Super 30 countdown of the area's top senior college football prospects, Mixon has already committed his bone-crushing hits to Grambling State.
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"He's a kid who can play out of the box or in the box," East ºüÀêÊÓƵ coach Darren Sunkett said. "You talk about a great tackler, a good cover kid. He's so versatile, and we use him in different ways."
Before committing to Grambling State, Mixon had offers from Arkansas, Ball State, Boston College, Central Michigan, Colorado, Lindenwood, Louisville, Miami (Ohio), Minnesota and Mississippi.
As a junior, he rolled up 69 tackles, one sack and one interception for the Class 5A runner-up Flyers. Mixon said the Flyers learned a lot heading into this season.
"We weren't bought in as a unit last year and I feel like we have a better connection now," Mixon said. "It's a better vibe. Everyone has bought in, one team and one family."
Sunkett said he saw glimpses throughout last season from his newly anointed safety.
"That Edwardsville game, he just made a ton of spectacular plays for us," Sunkett said. "He had a sack, pass breakups, and a phenomenal game that week. We're hoping for that type of consistency for this upcoming season."
Though he's moved to safety from linebacker, Mixon still claims one area of the field — the middle.
"That's my heaven. That's my blessing," Mixon said.
Working with assistant coach Brandon Gregory and teammate Charles Bass in the offseason has the 6-foot Mixon ready for the season.
"It's the best trust between me and him," Mixon said. "I worked with (Gregory) a lot, which will help. It'll put me in a better state, just getting me ready for that next level."
Mixon's aggression toward the ball carrier will be on full display this year as the Flyers load up on a normally stacked schedule.
East ºüÀêÊÓƵ opens the season with defending Class 8A champion Loyola Academy at Illinois State University, plays Sept. 14 at defending Pennsylvania Class 5A champion Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia and wraps the season Oct. 25 at home against IMG Academy, which was named the national champions by National High School Football Forum.
Mixon and his teammates aren't bothered.
"We call it 'never duck action,' " Mixon said. "Whoever is up, you have to play them. You can't run from them, so you have to face them. Better competition is what you'll see in college. You may as well see it now."
With a loaded schedule, Mixon and his teammates have been hard on each other throughout the offseason. The two who started their football journey together with a soul-shattering hit are continuing to deliver beatings on each other.
But this time, they laugh it off when the whistle blows.
"It's competitive," Mixon said. "We go at it every day but return to the locker room like nothing happened."
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