By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2023 season Sept. 1.
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Logan Pegram bleeds Silver Lake maroon and gold ... always has, always will.
Former Silver Lake football star Logan Pegram is starting his second season as the Eagles' head coach. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And as the former Eagle standout prepares to open its second season as his alma mater's head football coach he can't imagine a position he'd rather be in.
"We've got really kids and I say it until I'm blue in the face, it's a great community, good people, high expectations, everything you want from young people these days,'' Pegram said.
Silver Lake posted a solid 6-3 record in his first year at the school and is confident the Eagles are ready to take another step forward this fall.
"We had a really good summer,'' Pegram said. "My skill guys really, really bought in and we ask a lot of them with 7 on 7s and defensive focus, camps and everything that we do nowadays.
"We went up to Mill Valley and had a really good 7 on 7 and beat some really good teams. What we ask of the kids in the summer is hard because you still want them to be kids, but they also know that what they want to accomplish takes a little bit extra than you're used to giving right now.''
Pegram has a good nucleus of returning players from to build this year's team around, including senior returning TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 picks Eli Barnes (wide receiver/defensive back) and Tanner Martin (quarterback).
Barnes caught 39 passes for 670 yards (17.2 yards per catch) and five touchdowns last fall, while also picking off a pair of passes and recovering a pair of fumbles.
Silver Lake senior quarterback Tanner Martin was an All-Shawnee County Top 22 pick last fall, throwing for more than 2,000 yards. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Martin completed 134 of 228 pass attempts (58.8 percent) for 2,175 yards and 16 touchdowns as Silver Lake and also rushed for 542 yards and eight TDs on 116 carries and contributed three sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on defense.
Senior running back/defensive back Blake Redmond is also a top returner for a Silver Lake, receiving All-Shawnee County honorable mention in 2022 as well as second-team All-Mid-East League honors despite missing considerable time with an injury. Redmond rushed for 387 yards and seven touchdowns on 51 carries.
"At Silver Lake we're always senior led and seniors are given the first opportunity and then juniors behind them, but I have a core group of seniors that this matters to them,'' Pegram said. "It matters to the families, it matters to the people that raised them so we're really excited to see them with their opportunity.
"It's bittersweet. You don't want to see them graduate because I told them I really, really enjoy being around this group and that's important. That tells you you have a good program and a good culture getting built.''
Silver Lake opens its season at home Friday against Riley County, which ended the Eagles' season in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs last fall.
"That was a tough one,'' Pegram said. "It's always tough and especially for our expectations that we have as a staff of six guys who played here and just how much we care about this place and the passion that we have for it.
"It's important and it's weirdly ironic that we get to start our season off with the team that ended ours, so we're excited about this opportunity.''
SILVER LAKE
2023 football schedule
September -- 1 Riley County, 8 at Hayden, 15 at St. Marys, 22 Rock Creek, 29 at Rossville.
October -- 6 Pleasant Ridge, 13 at Maur Hill, 20 Atchison County, 27 Playoffs.
Next up: Topeka High.
