By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
Southeast of Saline and Beloit have played a number of epic duels over the years, but this season’s matchup, which would go down as a 52-6 drubbing in favor of SES, was over shortly after it began.
On their very first play from scrimmage, Beloit would lose their handle on the football, and while they did manage to recover, it came at a heavy price, as quarterback Quinn Eilert was knocked out of the game.
To add insult to injury on their very next play the orange Trojans coughed up the ball again, and this time, it was a purple jersey that recovered, setting up a quick 27-yard touchdown run for Danny Kejr.
Perhaps rattled by the early haymaker delivered by Southeast, Beloit fumbled for a third time on the ensuing kickoff, and this time it was Nathan Friesen who blasted Beloit for a 27-yard score on the ground.
With less than two minutes taken off the clock, SES held a 16-0 lead, and with that gust of wind already in their sails the Trojan offense would not be stopped for the remainder of the contest as they cruised to a 46-point victory.
Friesen and Kejr would both run for just shy of 100 yards, and through the air, Kejr played like a savvy veteran, completing 10 of his 14 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Through two games, Tucker Thaxton has emerged as a breakout star on an offense that had some questions at wide receiver, as the junior hauled in both of Kejr’s passing strikes of 40 and 70 yards, finishing his day with 112 receiving yards.
With this win, Southeast moves to 2-0, extending the second-longest regular season winning streak in the state of Kansas to an unthinkable 26 games dating back to 2019.
The Trojans will be back in action on Friday September 15th when they host a hot 2-0 Minneapolis team fresh off a big home win over Sacred Heart.
Photo courtesy of Macy Bunch