Indiana opens Special Olympics USA Games with 2-0 flag football start

Indiana did not just win twice in Minneapolis. The Madison County Mustangs opened Special Olympics USA Games flag football play with a 2-0 Monday sweep, beating Nebraska 28-12 and Idaho 39-12 after 75 practices built the kind of chemistry that showed up immediately.

Against Nebraska, Josh Griffin forced a safety on the opening possession for a 2-0 lead, then caught a touchdown from Sam Benitez to keep the pressure on. Benitez later connected with his son, Emanuel Manny Benitez, for a late first-half score, Andrew Youngdale added a PAT catch, and Griffin followed with another touchdown before Kyle Barton intercepted a pass to finish the game. Indiana controlled the clock from there and kept Nebraska from making the score close.

Idaho faced a faster version of the same team. Indiana rolled to a 26-0 halftime lead behind two touchdowns from Khalil Lewis and another from Barton, then finished the 39-12 win with the same tempo and defensive opportunism that carried the opener. The two victories gave the Mustangs 67 points in one day and put them in clear position early in the tournament.

The start fit the confidence Sam Benitez and coach Josh Elizondo brought into the week. Benitez said the team wanted to show it belonged on the national stage and came with gold-medal ambitions, while Elizondo said the plan was to start slowly, feel out the officiating and settle into the pace. Instead, Indiana adapted quickly in a USA Games field that includes 16 sports, traditional and Unified 5v5 flag football, and an expected 3,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, up to 15,000 volunteers and about 75,000 fans across Minneapolis and the Twin Cities.

Flag football first appeared at the USA Games in Nebraska in 2010 and has become one of Special Olympics’ fastest-growing sports, with more than 38,000 athletes and Unified partners training and competing each year. Indiana’s broader delegation includes more than 100 athletes, Unified partners, coaches and support staff across 10 sports, and the early flag football surge gave the Madison County group a national-stage start that matched its state-champion pedigree. The week also carries a national spotlight, with the opening ceremony at Huntington Bank Stadium featuring Demi Lovato and Jon Batiste and select USA Games events airing on ESPN and ABC.