By Landon Duester
Your Mustangs, after another 6–2 regular season, hosted the Arthur County Wolves in Bladen. The Mustangs knew they had a big challenge in front of them, but they did not shy away from it. After the first possession—forcing the Wolves to go three and out and giving the ball back—the Mustangs knew they had what it took to come out on top.
After the first quarter of play, the score was 8–7 in favor of Arthur County, but the Mustangs had the ball and were ready to score again. They did far more than score once; they tallied a total of 25 points in the second quarter to the Wolves’ 8, sending Silver Lake into halftime with a 32–16 lead.
Coming out in the second half with the ball, the Mustangs couldn’t have asked for a better situation. By this point in the game, quarterback Beau Bonifas had already racked up half of his passing yards on a Hail Mary at the end of the half that traveled 60 yards in the air to leading receiver Brody Knehans. Bonifas finished with 257 passing yards, while Knehans caught 203 of those on only eight receptions and added three touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Mustangs shut down the Wolves and made them earn every yard. Leading tacklers were Lanham Skrdlant with six solo and five assisted tackles (11 total), followed by Landon Duester with six solo and three assisted tackles (nine total). In the second half, the Mustangs remained in control, though the Wolves continued to battle. With a final score of 39–28, Silver Lake picked up its second home playoff win in two years. Back-to-back home playoff victories are nearly unheard of for the program, especially considering it had been years since the Mustangs had even hosted a playoff game before last season.
With round one complete, the Mustangs advanced to face the number-one team in the state, the Garden County Eagles. The Eagles had been a powerhouse all year, and the Mustangs knew the three-and-a-half-hour bus ride meant they needed to be ready from the opening kickoff. Unfortunately, Garden County’s powerful offense and defense proved too much, and they controlled the game from start to finish. The Eagles went on to win 42–6, bringing another great Mustangs season to a close in the second round of the playoffs.
The Silver Lake Mustangs had a strong season overall. Even though they were written off at times, they never let that affect their performance. With several key players graduating, the Mustangs will need to fill some big roles before next year—but as always, they will find a way.
This season also featured several impressive individual and team accomplishments for the Mustangs. Jaxon tenBensel surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing milestone, finishing the year with 1,008 rushing yards after reaching the mark against Garden County. Quarterback Beau Bonifas ended the season with 1,645 passing yards and also broke the school record for most interceptions in a game, surpassing the previous record of two with three interceptions against Sterling. Brody Knehans set a new school record for most receiving yards in a single game, breaking the former mark of 178 yards by recording 203 yards against Arthur County. As a team, the Mustangs rewrote the record books by setting new school records for most passing yards in a season with 1,829 (previous record 1,728), most interceptions in a season with 16 (previous record 13), most pass completions in a season with 112 (previous record 90), and most passing attempts in a season with 202 (previous record 173).