The Silver Lake High boys’ football team will stay within the Patriot League in the first week of the regular season.
The Lakers are scheduled to host the North Quincy Red Raiders on Saturday, Sept. 8 (2:00 p.m. start time) in their opener. Certainly, a win to start the season would give the Lakers a leg up on the competition as they hope to earn their third straight playoff bid. Right now, it appears as though the Lakers have a strong chance to achieve that feat.
The Red Raiders are in a different position than many teams this season. They went 4-7 last year, graduated the majority of their offensive line and will have a new quarterback taking over. Plus, they have a new head coach in Ryan Craig, who coached youth football for the past several seasons.
Since the Red Raiders experience is primarily on the ends on both sides of the ball, as well as at running back and in their secondary, a strong run game and tough run defense will likely be the key to victory for the Lakers in this one.
Neither team has much experience on the line, but having senior co-captains Marshall Roy and Cam Danahy at linebacker should give the Lakers some confidence when it comes to stopping the opposing running backs.
Regardless of who is at quarterback–junior Jesse Miller or sophomore Ben Lofstrom–having Bobby Ohlson, a senior co-captain, at wide receiver should help the team gain some yards in the air when needed. However, the running back corps led by the other team’s captain, Jake Waters, will likely determine how the game goes offensively for the team–as will the protection they receive up front.
Per usual, the first game of the season will give fans a glimpse of what the Lakers are capable of achieving this season. Playing against another young team should be a good test to see how they will fare in the league this season.