By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
There’s a saying at Salina Central High School: Pressure is Privilege.
That statement rings especially true following a 4-5 season where the Mustangs felt they left a lot on the table, finishing without a playoff win for a second-straight season.
Despite all that, and the graduation of excellent talents like Jack Gordon, Tate Gary, Isaiah White, James Mackinney, and Tyrus Young, expectations are still riding high for the Mustangs in 2025 with a veteran-heavy squad brimming with talent.
“There’s a lot to be excited about this year,” Central head coach Mark Sandbo said. “We have great leadership with 19 seniors, and we’ve got great numbers out for football. You can do a lot of good things in 5A football with a senior group that big, and these guys have come through our system and spent a lot of time with us, they’re geared up and ready to go.”
For the Mustangs to return from good to great, they’ll need to clean things up across the board, from penalties to turnovers to simple miscues, but for a team that was two plays away from finishing 6-3 last season, there’s good reason to think brighter days are ahead for Salina Central.
“We’ve gotta stay healthy, and we need to play clean,” Sandbo said. “We were inconsistent last year, and that falls on my shoulders. I didn’t do a good enough job of preparing our guys for those situations and that pressure and I think we’re going to be a lot cleaner this year.”
That level of accountability is what Salina has come to expect from Sandbo, who enters his eighth season at Central with a 38-29 record, seven Mayor’s Cup wins, and three postseason victories.
While the Mustang’s floor feels very high this season, their ceiling will likely hinge on the play of junior quarterback Griffin Hall, who takes the reins from Jack Gordon.
“If you were to recruit a guy for what we like to do it would be a guy like Griffin,” Sandbo said. “The guys who have had a lot of success in our system mirror his abilities and intangibles. He’s a great thrower, he’s dynamic with the football and he’s a high-IQ player that makes good decisions. He checks all of those boxes and he’s a terrific leader as well.”
Hall will have a wealth of talent around him, including returning 1,400-yard rusher Cooper Reves, and stellar wideouts like Bodie Rodriguez, Noah Peck, Keaton Smith and Gannon Cole.
All of this will run behind an offensive line that averages 290 lbs on its left side, anchored by 4-star left tackle Kaden Snyder, who has committed to play football at Kansas University next season.
The defense will also be veteran-heavy, featuring just one underclassman on the starting 11, and six seniors returning to reclaim their starting roles.
“A lot of our strengths defensively are in the second level and on the back end, which hasn’t been the case for the last few years,” he said. “We have to replace guys like James Mackinney who are taking reps at Air Force this year but we have some newcomers and returning starters that we’re excited about.”
Connor Carter, Kytrell Johnson and Ryne Callahan will lead the charge in the trenches, while Grant Ostmeyer joins Jesus Delgado, Abram Owings and Grayton Gross in the linebacking corps.
Kory Serocki reprises his role at free safety, and will anchor a unit that stars Alex Garcia, Trae Wise, and Jeremiah Smith in patrolling the deepest parts of the field.
The combination of experienced veterans and talented newcomers has Central in an excellent position to take a step forward this season, and that confidence has spread throughout the locker room ahead of the new campaign.
“We can’t turn the ball over, we have to take care of the football, and we need to stay healthy. If we can do those three things, I think we have a chance to be really successful,” Sandbo said. “There are a lot of good football teams in 5A and there are years where I hope we never see them, but this year I think we can mix it up with anyone. Some things have to go our way but I think this could be a fun year.”
The Mustangs open their 2025 season in Salina with cross-town rival Salina South.
This year’s Mayor’s Cup matchup will be broadcast with live video and audio commentary on Salina Post.
Full 2025 Football Schedule
9/5 - at Salina South
9/12 - vs. Ark City
9/19 - vs. Haysville Campus
9/26 - at Goddard-Eisenhower
10/3 - at Newton
10/10 - vs. Andover Central
10/17 - vs. Andover
10/24 - at Goddard