By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Throughout history, there have been a number of ways that underdogs in the ring have handled big fights.
For Haven, the plan was to come out swinging.
The Wildcats attempted an onside kick to start their game against #1 Southeast of Saline, and executed it nearly to perfection, but Trojan special teams star Jace Vanamburg lept into action and secured both the ball and great field position for SES.
The Trojan offense got into an early fourth-down situation but perhaps emboldened by their great field position, kept the offense on the field and moved the sticks deeper into Wildcat territory.
Then, the Nate Friesen show began.
Friesen found paydirt on his first carry of the day, housing an easy touchdown from three yards out to put the Trojans on top 8-0.
On his fourth carry of the evening and his second inside the red zone, Nate took another handoff up the middle, saw nothing but green grass ahead of him, and took a comfortable evening stroll ten yards to the end zone for his second score of the day.
In an effort to increase the difficulty, the junior's very next carry was given to him at midfield, but with two nimble cuts to get around the safety Friesen was off to the races again and all the Wildcat defense could do was watch.
Unbelievably, three handoffs later Friesen got the ball at his own 35 and hammered the afterburners, blasting past the entire Haven defense again for a 58-yard touchdown run.
Nathan Friesen’s first eight carries went for 136 yards and four touchdowns. In that span, he averaged 17 yards and three points per carry.
While the Southeast junior was busy asserting his dominance, the Trojans were matching his energy in all other facets of the game.
The SES defense held Haven to under 100 yards of total offense in the first half, while Luke Gebhardt completed 8/12 for 127 yards and a touchdown to help the Trojans to a 53-0 lead at halftime.
“I thought we came out and unleashed it from the start and that’s what we talked about doing,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “Our kids played with confidence on offense, defense, and special teams and I felt like we did a good job when we needed to.”
With a running clock in the second half, neither team accomplished much, and at the final whistle, the Trojans had their round-one victory, eliminating Haven by a final score of 53-12.
While Friesen stole the show from the Southeast backfield, the lanes he ran through were wide enough for a whole football team courtesy of an SES line playing at their highest level in the last two weeks.
“Our offensive line has continued to get better,” Gebhardt said. “We rotate guys in there to keep them fresh and all of those guys are doing a good job of holding their blocks and creating seams. Luke and Danny had time to throw the football for the second week in a row and that’s big.”
Haven’s season comes to a close at 4-5 while the Trojans advance to the round of 16 to take on the 7-1 Chaparral Roadrunners.