By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After dispatching Chaparral 56-7 in their playoff opener last week, the Southeast of Saline Trojans will return to Gypsum for a rematch of last year’s 2A semifinal with the Kingman Eagles.
SES enters this contest still undefeated at 9-0 while Kingman comes in at 7-2 having handled Hillsboro 31-6 last week.
While the Trojans appear to be all business this week, several starters, including seven seniors, haven’t forgotten last year’s double overtime result that held Southeast out of the 2A state title match.
“This is a playoff game and we know that if we don’t play well we’re going home,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “They ended our season last year and I’m sure that’s in the back of some guys’ minds but we have to continue to do a good job of taking care of our business against a very good football team this week.”
Statistically, this year’s Kingman team is more balanced than the unit Southeast faced a season ago, and still holds a top-15 scoring defense, holding their opponents to just 15 points per game on average.
Those numbers are made all the more impressive when looking at the Eagle’s resume, which features opponents like Cheney, Garden Plain, Hesston, and Wichita Trinity.
“Like last year their speed on defense is a big key for them,” Gebhardt said. “They play physical team defense but their speed might allow them to survive a mistake or two and they’ve played a good schedule.”
Offensively, Kingman comes into this game in disarray, having lost quarterback Ben Bradshaw to a broken hand in the Garden Plain game.
In his absence, two-way star and leading receiver Tristen Davidson has stepped up to fill the void, but the Eagle offense clearly missed their starter as they committed five turnovers in their week nine win.
Despite that, Kingman remains a dangerous bunch, and Southeast will have to stay on their toes for four quarters on Friday night.
“Kingman is well coached on both sides of the ball and they look similar to what we saw a season ago,” he said. “Their kids understand what they need to do and they’ve got speed, size up front and they run to the ball hard on defense.”
Unlike last year’s matchup, this one will take place in Gypsum, and the Trojans will be excited to play it in front of a purple wave at The Fritz.
“It’s always great to play at home and our kids feel great about playing in front of our fans,” Gebhardt said. “We worked hard to handle our business throughout the season and we get to do this as a result. We have to take care of the football, keep their offense off the field, play good team defense, and play sound on special teams.”
Kickoff between the Trojans and Eagles is set for 7:00 on the campus of SES and as always the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM), or streamed with live audio and video on the Salina Post HERE.
The winner of this contest will advance to the 2A quarterfinals to face either Hoisington (9-0), or Beloit (5-4).