By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After a brief stumble in 2020, the Central Mustangs got back to their winning ways in 2021, posting a 7-3 record and moving one step closer to a return to contender status.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good football players come through here in the last few years,” Mustang head coach Mark Sandbo said. “We’ve had a lot of success and we’ve had winning seasons in three of our four years now. We want to maintain the standard that we’ve set but we still feel like we have another step to take.”
Central will gear up for the new year with a talented, but inexperienced squad with the potential to push the program to new heights if they can answer a few big lingering questions.
“This is maybe as dynamic of a group as we’ve had here in my five years,” Sandbo said. “Across the board, we have guys who are doing some impactful things. We have players who can take the ball 70 yards when they want to and we’re excited about that.”
After graduating 18 seniors in the offseason, this year’s squad will get a full overhaul, starting at the quarterback position where junior Gunnar Gross will take over for Parker Kavanagh.
“[Gunnar] is an extremely smart, extremely competitive kid,” he said. “He’s got a really good arm and he’s a good downhill runner. We’re excited to give him the reins and we feel very confident in what he brings to the table.”
Gross will be joined in the backfield by star returner Kenyon McMillan, who will be asked to shoulder an even heavier load following a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2021.
“Running the football is what wins you games in November so we want to be able to do that efficiently but we’ll definitely use the forward pass which is the great equalizer in high school football,” Sandbo said.
On the receiving end of those passes, Central will return Hunter Mowery and Dez Gibson to headline the wideouts while Kaleb Marshall, Mason Clark, and Gage Gibson anchor the offensive line.
On the defensive side positional battles still rage on in practice, but each level will be anchored by at least one key returner from last year’s unit.
In the trenches, Hunter Swolensky will once again be a force to be reckoned with from the edge, joined this season by Zach Calisti and J’Marie Bobo.
Trevon Cole will anchor the linebacking corps along with two converted running backs in Ty Young and Donovan Johnson, while Avery Richardson returns to patrol the field at safety and Jameer Moore and Levi Losey slot in at corner.
While the personnel on the field has changed drastically, the mission in the Central locker room has not, and the Mustangs will be hungry to once again make their mark on Class 5A.
“Our goals haven’t changed,” Sandbo said. “We want to win the cup, we want to compete and win our league and we want to win in November. The Salina Central community expects that and so do we. Around here we like to say that pressure is privilege.”
The Mustangs will kick off their 2022 campaign with a Mayor’s Cup matchup against the cross-town rival Salina South Cougars on Friday, September 2nd.
For more on Central football all season long stay tuned to the Salina Post.