Silverado whips Chaparral in season opener

Silverado’s defense took some time to come alive against visiting Chaparral in the first high school football game of the season Thursday.

But senior running back Teran Madu-Jules made the Skyhawks ground attack look like it was in midseason form.

Madu-Jules rushed for 241 yards and had touchdown runs of 15, 4, and 6 yards as Silverado ran over the Cowboys, 42-6.

On Silverado’s second possession, Madu-Jules had runs of 22, 20 and 25 yards to set the tone.

 “I give all the credit to my offensive line and my fullback,” Madu-Jules said. “They just kept opening up big gaps for me and let me run though the holes like crazy."

Silverado racked up 470 rushing yards. Chaparral managed only 31.

Madu-Jules said establishing the run set the tone, not just for the game, but for the season.

 “It was essential. When you look at the season we had last year, this was to get that nightmare completely gone,” Madu-Jules said. “This helped us get our confidence back, and it showed we are one of the best teams, and people should be worried about us.”

Chaparral’s spread offense did give the Silverado defense problems on its opening drive.

Cowboys quarterback Zachary Luciano connected on his first five passes for 65 yards to drive his team to the 4-yard line with a chance to strike first. But Silverado defensive back Dariouse Gravely forced a fumble that went out of the end zone for a touchback to end the threat.

The Skyhawks slowly settled in from there, turning the tide by coming up with four turnovers and a pair of blocked punts by senior defensive end Matt Hollen.

“We had to find our groove,” Hollen said. ”It was the first game, and it shouldn’t happen, but it did. (The opening drive) made you think we had to fix this, get down to business and get work done.”

Hollen did his part, as he anchored the defense with eight tackles and two sacks.

Luciano connected on 16 of 31 passes for 222 yards and a score to lead Chaparral. The Cowboys actually outgained Silverado 204-200 in the first half, yet trailed 21-6.

In the second half, Luciano was limited to just three completions for 29 yards, and the Cowboys managed just 49 yards of offense after halftime.