By Justin Sharp
After a season where the Mustangs made history, advancing to the NSAA tournament for the first time in 21 years, the Silver Lake Mustangs were determined to get back to the same spot that ended their season the year prior. On December 4th, 2025, in a rivalry game to start the season against Red Cloud, with a heavy senior class that graduated last year, the Mustangs knew they had to have some players step up in a battle that would be an all-out dog-fight. Senior Landon Duester tipped off the game, and the Mustangs came out from the gate swinging. Senior Beau Bonifas kept the offense going from behind the arc, as well as Duester from inside the paint. The duo between Bonifas and Duester seemed to be the killer for the Warriors in this one.
A halftime lead by 3, 19-16, would send the Mustangs with some confidence into the 2nd half, in which it would be even the whole way. The 3-balls from Bonifas, and the exceptional defense from seniors Hayden Karr, Jaxon tenBensel, and Lanham Skrdlant, were too much for Red Cloud to handle. Although the Warriors matched the intensity, getting many second-chance opportunities with their rebounding skills and also scoring the same amount as the Mustangs in the 2nd half, that 3 point lead would prove to be too much for them as the Silver Lake Mustangs came out with a victory over their top rival, 41-38. “I was very impressed with how the boys handled the pressure of a close game,” exclaimed coach Fisher. “We had some starters that haven’t been in that situation at the varsity level, so it was great to see them step up to the challenge and execute. I was very impressed with their ability to work together and close out the game.” And coach Fisher was right, the teamwork skills were all the Mustangs needed to close this one out. Bonifas led the charge with 12 points, all by way of the three-pointer, while tenBensel had 10, and Duester and Karr had a combined 15 in the paint. The Silver Lake Mustangs started out the season on a good note and took down their rival, Red Cloud, to start the season 1-0.
With a successful close victory over the Red Cloud Warriors, the Silver Lake Mustangs wanted to keep that success going and work on getting a victory over the Deshler Dragons. On December 5th, 2025, the Mustangs tried to slay the Dragons in every aspect of the game. With one of the best players in D1 last year, Easton Nash, coming onto the Mustangs’ home court, they knew they had to contain Nash, as well as the team chemistry of Deshler. With a 43-38 gritty victory over the Dragons last year, the Mustangs looked to one-up that W, and do it in back-to-back seasons.
Landon Duester, once again, tipped off, and the Mustangs looked hot from the get-go, coming out to a 12-8 lead before the buzzer sounded to start the 2nd quarter. That’s where the Mustangs’ fire was extinguished. Transition defense and rebounding in general slowed down Silver Lake, sending them into the locker room at the break, down by 4, 17-21. Coach Fisher had some words: “We will continue to work on our transition defense and rebounding. We’ll continue to dial in our offense and make sure we give our players an opportunity to be successful on that end as well.” With Bonifas’ woes from behind the arc, and a team FG% just south of 25%, the Dragon’s defense proved to be overpowering for the Mustangs. Deshler outscored Silver Lake 35-13 in the second half and improved their record to 2-0. On the Mustang’s side, Landon Duester led the charge with 11 points, going 4-15 from the field.
Coach Fisher was determined to fight back and use this loss as fuel for the next games and the whole season to come. “We could not match the physicality in both the varsity and JV games. The biggest thing that we need to work on for the rest of the season is playing disciplined defense. We must work on allowing only one offensive possession each time down the court and not giving up second opportunities. Another big thing is execution offensively.” The Mustangs battled, but came up short in the end. A victory over Red Cloud to start the season, and coming back the next night to play a tough Deshler team proved to be the mood killer. For the next 3, the Silver Lake Mustangs will take on Axtell, Elba, and Gibbon, all in one week’s span, to finish out the first quarter of the season. “We made huge improvements last season as the year went on, and I hope to do the same this year,” exclaimed Coach Shaun Fisher, with hope for the season to come.