Tough schedule, but tougher players: Silver Lake football prepared to hit the road
KINGSTON – In any high school season, it’s difficult trying to win games on the road with a young roster and a new head coach in a tough division.
The Silver Lake Regional football team checked all three of those boxes in 2022. Many of those same challenges remain this fall as coach Mark Killinger enters his second year at the helm. But the Lakers don't care what they're up against this fall; they're focused on building a winning mindset before ever taking the gridiron.
“We have a tough schedule, I think the whole thing is just mental,” said senior captain and lineman Phineas Ering. “(It’s about) thinking that you can win instead of already being defeated going into the game.”
The Lakers have gone 8-14 over the past two seasons. This season, Silver Lake feels like it has made leaps of improvement. Seven of the team's eight losses in 2022 came by three touchdowns or more.
“I think everyone on our team wants revenge after everything that happened last year,” said Ering. “And the past couple of years, just getting blown out most of the time. I think everyone wants to get their get-back this season.”
Now the Lakers have key returners who plan to make an immediate impact. Michael Beauchesne, who started in the middle of last season, will get the starting quarterback job. Michael Krevosky will be his main target at wide receiver. Junior running back Wesley Griffin will make his return after battling an injury last season.
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The upperclassmen on the line and in the secondary make Silver Lake’s turnaround hopes a real possibility. However, their youthful depth that lacks experience is a cause for concern. With fewer than 20 seniors on the roster, the younger guys will have to get up to speed fast, as their first game is against Plymouth South, which went 10-1 in 2022.
“The older guys on the team have done a nice job,” said Killinger. “We have a lot of sophomores. We’re up to the 35 range of sophomores; we need the upperclassmen to show (them) the ropes.”
With only two home games during the regular season, the Lakers will have to become road warriors in 2023. The odds are stacked against them, but with a core of returning seniors with big hopes, they make for an interesting team to follow through this fall.
“We’re approaching (2023) as (if) our backs are against the wall,” said Killinger. “And let’s go on the road each week, form together as a family, play for one another and see where it takes us.”
No huddle
Last season the roster saw some changes throughout the season due to injuries and needed adjustments. The Lakers will start this season with Beauchesne at QB with his weapons Krevosky, Griffin and senior Logan Barnhart, who will play wide receiver. They also have key returners in the trenches with Ering, Micah Amedee, Braden Gilligan and Will Hinkley on the offensive line.
Defensively, Trevor Enright will lead the secondary, while middle linebacker Jake Ryan will make the calls up front.
2022 recap
Last season, the Lakers missed the playoffs and ultimately finished 3-8. Silver Lake earned wins over Norwood, Whitman-Hanson and Quincy.
Three players to watch out for
Wesley Griffin, RB/KR/WR: He’s a three-sport athlete (track and lacrosse) with a ton of speed. He has the potential to set up the Lakers with good field position on special teams.
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Michael Krevosky, WR/DB: A senior captain who can go and get the ball if it’s just thrown up in the air. He has the size and speed to blow by defenders and is the leader of the receiving corps.
Michael Beauchesne, QB: He got the starting job midway through the season, and now it’s his time to lead the guys. He’ll have the weapons around him along with a good line. They’ll go as far as he takes them.
They said it
Ering on the team's struggles last season: “Going into the games I know that people were already mentally defeated. Like going against Duxbury, they always go to the state (final), everyone’s just like, ‘It’s a going to be a blowout going into it’. They score a touchdown, and you can feel it on the sidelines, everyone's just like ‘ugh.’”
Krevosky on the strength of the team: “We’re very resilient. Our preseason scrimmages we had to come from behind. Our defense is very resilient, too. One bad play and we come right back.”
Silver Lake’s 2023 schedule
Friday, Sept. 8: at Plymouth South, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 15: at Cohasset, 7
Thursday, Sept. 21: at Abington, 7
Friday, Sept. 29: vs. Whitman-Hanson, 7
Saturday, Oct. 7: at Marshfield, 2
Friday, Oct. 13: vs. Duxbury, 7
Saturday, Oct. 21: at Hingham, 3:15
Friday, Oct. 27: at Plymouth North, 7
Thursday, Nov. 23: vs. Pembroke, 10 a.m.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Silver Lake Regional football 2023 season preview
