By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
With one of the most explosive offensive units in the state, the Salina Central Mustangs have raced out of the gates to a 3-2 start in 2022, and will look to build on that momentum down the home stretch.
Through five weeks of the regular season, the Mustangs boast the fifth-best scoring offense (46.2 ppg), fourth-best passing offense (197.2 yds/g), and third-best total offense (434.6 yds/g) in Class 5A.
“We’ve done some really good things this season but the explosiveness of our offense and our quickness on defense has really come together in these first five weeks,” Central head coach Mark Sandbo said.
It’s been an electric start for first-year quarterback Gunnar Gross. The junior signal caller already has over 1,000 yards passing and eight touchdowns through the air with just one interception thrown.
Gross has also emerged as a true dual threat racking up an additional 415 yards and ten more touchdowns on the ground this season.
2022 has also been a monster year for feature-back Kenyon McMillan, who has 750 yards and ten touchdowns on the ground to pair with 200 yards in the receiving game.
While that dynamic duo has kept defenses second-guessing in the backfield, Central’s receiving corps has feasted on opposing secondaries, showing off their athleticism and racking up yards after the catch.
“Gunnar and Kenyon have been a big part of this explosive offense but we’ve also got some real athletes on the perimeter,” Sandbo said. “In the first four weeks, we had a different receiver lead us in yards and we’ve had ten or more explosive plays every week, I don’t know that we’ve ever done that before.”
Four different Mustang pass catchers have over 100 yards through the air this season, and all four could feasibly be over 200 after this week’s matchup with Andover Central.
The one weakness of this year’s Central squad appears to be in a defense that has surrendered 37 points per game through five contests, but after replacing nine defensive starters from 2021 and transitioning several offensive players to the other side of the ball the Mustangs are still settling into their new identity.
“Our defense is getting better every week and we’re expecting to continue seeing that improvement as long as we can stay healthy,” he said. “We need to be playing our best football this week and in the weeks to come and we feel like we’re really close to getting where we need to be defensively.”
The Mustangs are scheduled to receive two more big tests before week nine as the team hosts 3-2 Andover Central this week before traveling to 4-1 Goddard on the 14th.
While the players and team identity at Salina Central have changed once again, the goals and expectations remain the same, and the Mustangs will be gearing up to make a run in this year’s 5A playoffs.
“One of the great things that comes with being at Salina Central is the high expectations and around here we always say that pressure is privilege,” Sandbo said. “If we can take care of business and meet the goals that we’ve talked about as a program we’d love to host a first-round playoff game and we still want to win in November.”
The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday with a 7 pm kick against Andover Central at Salina Stadium.
For continuing coverage of Salina Central football all season long, stay tuned to the Salina Post.