Mahlon Slaughter looks to Make an Impact with Wilkes Barre

Football has always been a sport where those who can improvise and adapt succeed. How many of the greatest highlight clips from the sport’s history involve a broken play with someone scrambling to save it? If you can find a way when things shift unexpectedly, then you can do almost everything. That fact is not lost on the newest signing to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Mavericks, Mahlon Slaughter. 

Slaughter grew up, well, everywhere. Despite having a support system with two loving parents and three brothers of various ages, Slaughter got used to having to scramble to find his feet. 

“Going back a little bit from my life, you know, I’ve lived in five or six different states growing up. My dad, he works for the United States Postal Service, so he would move us around,” Slaughter explained. “He would get promoted every three to five years, so he would move us around. And so when that hit me, even when I was a kid, it was sad.”

Despite moving from state to state every few years, there were two constants in his life. The loving family that always surrounded him, and football. 

Mahlon’s dad attended Murray State to get his college degree. His mother attended The Ohio State University. As a result, football was a big part of their routine no matter where they went. 

“My mom is a huge Buckeyes fan, so all we know is Ohio State football,” he said. “Growing up, constantly our Saturdays, especially at a young age, we spent watching football… so for me, even at a young age, around like that four or five mark, I knew instantly that I wanted to go play football.”

Although his dad was instrumental in helping him learn the game, spending countless hours with him, the difficulty of changing locations took a toll on young Mahlon. Creating team chemistry in youth leagues is already difficult, and starting from scratch made it even harder for him. However, it is here that he learned to adapt to new situations and find success wherever he went. 

“Like it was always different, but one thing I've learned throughout the process, you got to be able to be adaptable to whatever situation. And one thing I could tell you, the first couple of times it took me a minute, but when it happened constantly for me, I could tell you instantly I was so adaptable to certain teams,” he explained “So when I got into another program or got to another team or whatever, I was ready to hit the ground running. I know for me, as a person, I know the expectation when it comes to football.”

ANOTHER SCRAMBLE

All of this scrambling made Slaughter a teammate that could work in any situation. That mentality started to pay off in high school. Things began to click into place during his junior and senior years. After transferring from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, to storied DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, he began to realize that there could be football even after high school. 

He committed to play at Malone University, a D-II school in Canton, Ohio. Within four or five games, he had found his way into the starting lineup there and was looking forward to really putting his stamp on the team during his sophomore year. However, that’s when it became time to scramble yet again. 

In January of his freshman year at the school, the president of the school informed the team that they would be no more. Malone was discontinuing their football program. 

“I will say in that first moment, finding out was not the best, especially finding out at like 5 a.m., 6 a.m. in the morning was not the best,” Slaughter explained. “It was like early January, mid-January, when we found out in the morning. It was like actually on a Monday, if I'm not correct. The president came in and told us that the football program was shut down.”

While some college Freshmen would have gone into a panic, Mahlon Slaughter did no such thing. Fueled by a life of scrambling for what comes next, he was prepared and kept the faith that things would work out for him. 

“God has a plan for you for everything. So I think it built me up for that freshman year when they shut down that program - okay, you know, God always has a plan for something. Sometimes we get confused about it, but at the same time, you know that God always has your back, and he has your best interest at heart,” Slaughter said. “I knew that whatever God wanted me to do next, that's what he wanted me to do. And then when Northwood [University] provided that opportunity to me, I knew instantly I was great.”

And that’s where Slaughter would close out his college career - Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. However, his football journey - and his need to scramble a little - was far from over.

THE NEXT MOVE

After trying out for the Orlando Predators for a few weeks, Slaughter moved on to become a graduate assistant at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania. While he likes his job, he never stopped training and looking for one more chance to show he can find his way. 

That way came this past winter when the AF1 announced that there would be a team in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, not all that far from where he was coaching. After pouring himself into training and putting his best foot forward, he got the call. 

“I always wanted to stay in shape regardless, but I just thought I'd see this opportunity through and see what happens. Now I'm here to sign, and I was just very, very shocked,” he said. “Obviously, I've been working within the last month or two - Just knowing thatI'm still going to try to go 100 percent at it. Next thing you know, I found myself signing the contract, so it's been a blessing.”

Now, he’ll have to perform his biggest scramble of all. Getting the chance to play professional football with barely two months' notice. After signing on the dotted line for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Mavericks on January 7th, he’ll look to be ready for the early March debut. If anybody can pull off that act - it has to be Mahlon Slaughter. 

Slaughter wanted to give a special thanks to all the members of his family for their support of his career, as well as his coaches, Coach Brooks (DeMatha), Coach Masaki (Lincoln), Coach Haynes, and Coach Thomas. Without them, he would not have had the mental, physical, or emotional toughness to get to where he is today.