By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline Trojans stayed on track in week three, dominating the Ellsworth Bearcats 48-9 on homecoming night.
This week, the Trojans get their first true road test, as they make the trip to Marysville to open district play against the Bulldogs.
Below you can find game notes for Southeast of Saline’s week four showdown against Marysville.
Week Four - SE of Saline (3-0) vs. Marysville (2-1)
Date/Time - Friday, September 18, 2026, 7:00 kickoff
Location - Marysville High School, Marysville, KS
The Series - The Trojans and Bulldogs have only met twice in their history, both in the 3A playoffs. Southeast won both games, with a 60-7 victory in 2021 and a 20-0 win in 2020.
NCAA Standings (league, overall)
1. SE of Saline (3-0, 3-0)
2. Lyons (2-1, 2-1)
T3. Beloit (1-1, 2-1)
T3. Republic County (1-1, 1-2)
T3. Sacred Heart (1-1, 2-1)
6. Ellsworth (1-2, 1-2)
7. Minneapolis (0-3, 0-3)
District 5 Standings (district play begins this week)
- SE of Saline (3-0)
- Council Grove (3-0)
- Marysville (2-1)
- Riley County (2-1)
- Minneapolis (0-3)
2026 Season Results
SE of Saline
- W 24-22 vs. Beloit
- W 55-6 at Lyons
- W 48-9 vs. Ellsworth
Marysville
- L 44-24 at Chapman
- W 28-21 at Clay Center
- W 42-15 vs. Concordia
Broadcast info - This game will be streamed with live video and broadcast commentary on Salina Post and on the Salina Post YouTube page, and will be broadcast on radio on KINA (910 AM, 107.5 FM, or online at 910KINA.com.) Pregame begins at 6:30 on both platforms.
Voice of the Trojans Devin Hanney will provide play-by-play with Kevin Lilley joining the booth for color commentary.
Stream link - youtube.com/watch?v=9almz5fOH-c
THE TROJANS AT GLANCE
Southeast of Saline is off to another hot start, opening the campaign 3-0 for a ninth consecutive year.
The Trojans have dominated their last two games, and now boast a combined score of 127-37 through week three.
SES is holding their opponents to just 12.3 points per game while scoring an average of 42.3 on offense.
That offensive unit has looked dominant through three weeks, putting up 419 yards of total offense on average.
THE LEFTY ASSASSIN
Tiernan Ptacek continues to lead the SES offense well, completing 44 of his 73 passes for 607 yards and 8 touchdowns, adding 297 yards six more touchdowns on the ground.
TURNOVER TROUBLES
Despite the hot start, the Trojans will seek to take better care of the football in district play, having turned the ball over nine times in just three games.
Fortunately, the defense has made up much of that ground, forcing three interceptions, recovering three fumbles, and getting back for three sacks.
STREAKS, STREAKS, AND MORE STREAKS
This dynastic run has produced a number of impressive streaks for the Trojans. Most impressively, SES still holds a 51-game winning streak in the regular season, the longest of any program at any level in the state of Kansas.
Southeast has also won its last 18 season openers, 19 home openers, and is 41-1 in its last 42 home games.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
After a dismal 1-8 finish in 2025, the Bulldogs got off to a concerning start when they fell to Chapman 40-6 in this year’s season opener.
Fortunately, that appears to be more a by-product of a resurgent Irish program than a waning Marysville program, as the Bulldogs bounced back to beat Clay Center and Concordia in back-to-back weeks.
Led by a strong ground-and-pound offense, the Bulldogs will seek to impose their will through the run game this week, setting up a strength-on-strength matchup against an SES program that’s always been good at stopping the run.
QUOTES FROM COACH PTACEK
On a dominant 48-9 win over Ellsworth…
“Going into Ellsworth week we had some unknowns with some pieces getting shuffled around. I was impressed with what their freshman quarterback did and we didn’t feel about the way we played despite the lead in the first half but I was impressed with the way our guys responded in the second hald.”
On Tiernan Ptacek, Tysen Keller and Christian Peterson stepping up to lead the backfield…
“Tiernan is doing a lot of good stuff and we’ve really enjoyed his leadership. He still has some things to clean up with the interceptions but we just have to work on getting everyone on the same page.”
“Christian and Tysen are both kids we need to have on the defensive side of the ball, but having those two back in the backfield has been great for us and Tysen had an exceptional game on Friday.”
On Marysville and their run-heavy style of offense…
“Marysville has had a few good wins over the last couple of weeks and they really do take it to you on offense. They play physical, they fire out low and aggressive and if you’re not disciplined and playing your 1-11 things can be difficult.”
On district play and keys to this week’s game…
“There’s always a little something added when you get to district play. We always want to go 1-0 and focus on us but you also want to set the standard for what district play brings. Our kids have to keep working, have to continue to do their 1-11, clean up some mistakes and keep working.”