🏈 Knights eye next stage of rebuild in 2025

By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post

The Sacred Heart football team showed promise throughout their 3-5 2024 season, and with a slew of returning players on both sides of the ball, the team has a chance to take another step forward in 2025.

For the first time in four years, the program retains its head coach as Ryan Krajicek returns for his second season at the helm.

That lack of consistency has been a key culprit in a rough four-year stretch for the Knights, but it’s one of many things changing in Salina.

“We were the fourth coaching staff that these kids had had in four years, that’s four different offenses, four different defenses, different vernacular, all of it,” Krajicek said. “Last year we tried to streamline everything, and with such a young team, we wanted them to learn things quickly; now coming into year two we have that background.”

A familiar scheme and a familiar staff pair well with a familiar roster, as the Knights bring back several key pieces from last year’s team.

That list begins with junior quarterback Maddox Wells, who completed 118 passes for north of 1,500 yards, with 17 touchdown passes and just six interceptions in 2024.

“Maddox is a blast to coach and to teach in the classroom,” he said. “He leads by example and he’s always the last guy to leave the weight room. He can extend plays and direct traffic well and he’s got that game sense about him.”

In the backfield Dom Matteucci reprises his role alongside Elias Godon and Miles wells, while Wells’ favorite target Noah Hines headlines a recieving corps with several newcomers.

The biggest test for the Sacred Heart offense will come in the trenches, where the Knights plan to start three freshmen alongside seniors Cayson Ivey and Gabe Rodriguez.

“Having three freshmen on the offensive line will be a challenge for us,” Krajicek said. “But we wouldn’t put those kids there if we didn’t think they could get the job done.”

The defense see’s several familiar names, with some in new spots as Maddox Wells, Noah Hines and Luis Hernandez patrol the secondary, Gabriel Aguayo, Cayson Ivey, Elias Gordon and Maddox Ontiveros fill out the linebacker corps, and Gabe Rodriguez, Cruz Carrico, Edward Gawith and Landon Pfiefer go to battle in the trenches.

While the results of this rebuild remain to be seen, hopes and expectations in Salina haven’t been this high in awhile, and those supporting the Navy and Gold could be in for an entertaining season ahead.

“Our goal is to keep building,” he said. “The vibes around the community and the kids are as high as they’ve been since I’ve been here. Things still aren’t where we’d like them to be but we have great kids and they have great families, I’m privileged to be able to coach them up and I love going into Friday night’s with them every week.”

Ahead of the 2025 kickoff, Sacred Heart is eying some very attainable goals that should be well within their reach if the Knights can stay healthy.

“Our goal is to do some things that Sacred Heart hasn’t done in a very long time,” Krajicek said. “It’s been a decade since we won our district and it’s been even longer since we finished with a winning record, those are things we want to accomplish.”

The Knights open their season on the road battling the Bearcats in Ellsworth.

All Sacred Heart football games will be broadcast on the Salina Post YouTube page, with Nicolas Fierro providing play-by-play commentary.

Full 2025 Football Schedule
9/5 - at Ellsworth
9/12 - at Plainville
9/19 - vs. Pleasenton
9/26 - vs. Valley Heights
10/3 - vs. Sedgwick
10/10 - at Bennington
10/17 - vs. Herington
10/24 - at Republic County