By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Silver Lake made big plays down the stretch to ward off a challenge from visiting Council Grove with playoff implications on the line, winning 29-12 at home Friday.
Eagle quarterback Dysen Schooler shook off a second-quarter injury to complete 22 of 27 passing attempts for 242 yards. He also ran for a 31-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to seal the victory.
Silver Lake senior quarterback Dysen Schooler passed for three touchdowns and also ran for a TD in the Eagles' 29-12 win over Council Grove. [File photo/TSN]
With the win, the Eagles claimed second in Class 2A District 3. They will await the matchups for the first round of the playoffs to be announced Saturday. Council Grove, however, saw their hopes of playing on dashed with the loss at Silver Lake.
Eagle coach Logan Pegram was quick to credit the seniors who made sure their last regular-season game would be a good one.
“I told the kids before we came out that it’s a special night,” Pegram said. “I love seeing seniors compete. At this time of the year when the sand runs low in the hourglass, it’s fun to see them show up and we had that all night.”
Silver Lake quickly drove to a touchdown to open the contest on a short pass from Schooler to fellow senior Logan Cathcart.
Council Grove then dominated time of possession for the rest of the first half, running 30 plays to just 17 for Silver Lake. But the Braves had just six points to show for it and trailed 7-6 at the break. When the visitors scored on their opening possession on a catch and run of 48 yards by Ace Monihen, the tide seemed to have turned against the Eagles.
On the ensuing possession, a pass by Schooler was batted into the air by a Silver Lake receiver and intercepted by Council Grove at the Eagle 36-yard line. Looking to pad their 12-7 lead, the Braves reached the 13-yard line before their drive stalled. They turned the ball over on downs.
“It’s been in that defense all year,” Pegram said. “I think we finally saw tonight where it all clicked and we got off the field, forced some turnovers and earned the privilege to get after the quarterback a little bit, which helped us in the second half.”
The Silver Lake offense responded to the stop by the defense, going 81 yards to finish with a second touchdown pass from Schooler to Cathcart, reclaiming the lead,15-12.
The Silver Lake defense then took over the game for good. The Eagles harried the Braves’ quarterback into interceptions on back-to-back plays, with a short Eagle touchdown drive sandwiched in between. They forced a third interception a few minutes later, slamming the door on the Braves’ chances.
“The kids really responded in the second half,” Pegram said. “I thought our seniors really stepped up and made some plays. It’s fun to see, when it got hard, I thought our kids got together for the first time and just leaned into it, which is what we talk about as a program.”
Schooler was nearly perfect, throwing to six different receivers for three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.
“My receivers were getting open. Huge shout out to them,” Schooler said. “The play calls were good. I was just seeing it really well.”
The senior quarterback led the Eagles to improve to 6-2 on the season. He said he believes the team has even bigger things ahead.
“I think we’re capable of going all the way,” Schooler said. “I think we can play with any team in the state on any given night when we’re at our best. So, I’m really excited to see how this thing unwinds.”
Gritty senior running back Monihen provided most of the attack for Council Grove in his final game. He rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 60 yards and the Braves’ other score.
SILVER LAKE 29, COUNCIL GROVE 12
Council Grove (5-3, 1-3) 0 6 6 0 -- 12
Silver Lake (6-2, 3-1) 7 0 8 14 -- 29
Silver Lake – Cathcart 4 pass from Schooler (Martinez kick)
Council Grove – Monihen 9 run (run failed)
Council Grove – Monihen 48 pass from Stewart (run failed)
Silver Lake – Cathcart 41 pass from Schooler (Johnson pass from Schooler)
Silver Lake – Johnson 8 pass from Schooler (Martinez kick)
Silver Lake –Schooler 31 run (Martinez kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Council Grove: Monihen 18-79, Stewart 5-4, Goodell 7-30, French 2-2. Silver Lake: Schooler 5-15, Lees 14-58, Waterer 1-1, Burgos 3-25, Johnson 1-(minus)1.
Passing – Council Grove: Stewart 7-20-3 7-20-3 103 yards, Monihen 0-1-0 0 yards. Silver Lake: Schooler 22-27-1 242 yards, Ross 0-1-0 0 yards.
Receiving – Council Grove: Monihen 2-60, Samuels 1-15, French 1-12, Dody 3-16. Silver Lake: Johnson 7-73, Lees 3-31, Cathcart 4-68, Rollenhagen 2-14, Burgos 1-13, Deiter 5-43.
Punting – Council Grove: Monihen 1-48.0. Silver Lake: Schooler 2-22.0, Burgos 1-17.0.
