By Heather Jensby
On Thursday, August 28, the Silver Lake Mustangs kicked off their football season with an exciting 44–27 victory over the Shelton Bulldogs. The win gave the Mustangs the strong start they were hoping for. Head Coach Connor Brown commented that the boys came out strong and set the tone early, contributing to the win.
Senior quarterback Beau Bonifas directed the offense, spreading the ball around to several receivers. He connected with senior Landon Duester on a 24-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. Junior Brody Knehans was Bonifas’s top target, hauling in three passes for 46 yards. Junior Lanham Skrdlant and sophomore Braedyn Snell also made their mark, each pulling in touchdown receptions.
On the ground, senior running back Jaxon tenBensel carried the load, rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns. With help from both the running game and passing game, the team managed to go into the break with a 38-7 lead.
Although Silver Lake’s offense slowed after the break, the defense stepped up to hold back Shelton’s rally. Skrdlant led the charge defensively with 13 tackles, while Duester and tenBensel added 12 and 10 tackles apiece.
Coach Brown acknowledged that there’s still room to grow: “Offensively, we slowed down in the second half and need to finish drives better. Defensively, we gave up three scores after halftime, so there’s work to be done there, too. But overall, I was proud of the effort, physical play, and the way they stuck together.”
Shelton found success late with 20 fourth-quarter points, but the Mustangs added another score of their own to keep the game out of reach.
Coach Brown believes consistency will be key moving forward: “Being a team that can be counted on to give consistent effort, execute the game plan, and play four quarters of ball. With the effort they showed in the opener, we’ve got the potential to do some great things.”