Senior Brandon Tunnel has been Silverado’s starting quarterback since the first game of his freshman year.
During that season, the Skyhawks were a running team that threw about 10 percent of the time. The Tunnel lost its sophomore season due to COVID, but the plan was to throw it about 35 percent of the time that year.
Entering his junior year, Silverado was still expected to be primarily a running team. But that all changed after the second game for the Skyhawks.
Tunnel threw 259 yards and three touchdowns to give the Skyhawks a 50-29 victory at Shadow Ridge. That game established Silverado as the clear favorite in Class 4A, a position they held until the end when they again dominated Shadow Ridge 61–27 in the state championship game.
“We stumbled on our first drive, and there were so many guys in front of them, I said we had to throw,” Silverado coach Andy Ostolaja said. “From there, we said, ‘Okay, we’ll throw it away whenever we want.’”
That was music in Tunnel’s ears.
He threw for 1,942 yards and 27 touchdowns with six interceptions and put on a show in the state championship game by completing 13 of 18 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns. Two of them went to Tunnel’s twin brother, Bryson.
“I plan to bring the ball more in this season,” Brandon Tunnel said. “I’ve been playing football with him on the same team since we were 6. I’m really excited to play my last year of high school football with him.”
If Ostolaza had Tunnel’s criticism as a young quarterback, it was that he looked for his brother too much. It certainly wasn’t his toughness, which Tunnel showed when he broke his hand in the second game of his freshman year in the second quarter against Las Vegas, but he padded on and played the fourth quarter.
It was also not his maturity, which Tunnel showed by taking responsibility for two losses in his freshman year. And Tunnel showed that he can contain the others and not focus all his attention on getting the ball to Bryson last season.
“The way he spread the ball last year was impressive,” Ostolaja said. “His confidence takes everyone to his level. He is the best of the best. He is the most winning quarterback in the history of our school, even after losing years to COVID.”
While Tunnel had a talented group of receivers to throw last year and will be again this season, when it comes to the red zone, he looks for Bryson. After all, why not throw the guy Brandon shares “tunnel vision” with, after all, in that most important area of the field?
But no matter who is on the receiving end, Tunnel is proud to gain the trust of his coaches and help him reshape the Silverado offense.
“I personally took to being called a running team,” he said. “We have great running backs, and I understand the offense needs to be balanced. But we changed everyone’s view of our team and showed that we are more than a one-dimensional team. It definitely helped us win the state last year.
Contact Jason Orts at [email protected] obey @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.
