By Justin Sharp
Coming off a great defensive performance, dominating Ansley-Litchfield 34-0, the Mustangs were looking to stay perfect and advance their record to 3-0. On Friday, September 12th, the eighth-ranked Silver Lake Mustangs took on the defending state champions and the number one team in 6-man, the Stuart Broncos. A 2:00 kickoff has many pros and cons, head coach Conner Brown explained: “It forces us to adjust everything. Meals, walkthroughs, and meetings all happen earlier, and with the heat, we make hydration a big focus. Our guys handled that challenge well. Even in tough conditions, they came out ready to battle from the start.” And Coach Brown was right, the Mustangs took a hard-fought loss, 41-19, in which the score doesn’t show how close the game really was.
Senior Jaxon tenBensel took charge of the offense, racking up 86 rushing yards, 110 receiving yards, and two touchdowns, one of each kind. Leading the way on the passing side of the offense, senior Beau Bonifas had an amazing 207 passing yards, with a 43% completion rate, throwing to 4 different receivers. “That’s one of the strengths of this group. We don’t have to rely on just one guy — our quarterback trusts several different receivers to make plays. That balance keeps defenses honest and gives us confidence that we can move the ball in multiple ways,” said head coach Conner Brown, pleased with the number of receivers Bonifas is able to throw to. Although Bonifas only threw for one touchdown against the Broncos, three other receivers, aside from tenBensel, were able to rack up some receiving yards. Senior Lanham Skrdlant, junior Brody Knehans, and senior Landon Duester were able to combine with each other for 97 yards and 8 carries, respectively. The Mustangs were able to do some great things on offense but fell short in the end.
On the other side of the ball, the Mustangs recorded 32 total tackles, with eight different players recording at least one tackle. Landon Duester led the way with eight total tackles, with seven of them being solo. The seniors led the way on the defensive side, with Bonifas, tenBensel, and Skrdlant combining for 14 total tackles. In the end, the Broncos’ offense was overpowering for the Mustangs. “We knew coming in they were the #1 team for a reason, and in the second quarter, they made a few big plays that put us on our heels. But I was proud of how our kids responded. Instead of backing down, we kept moving the ball and finished with nearly 400 all-purpose yards. That shows we can compete with anybody,” exclaimed Coach Brown after the tough loss. In the end, the Mustangs lost with a final score of 19-41.