By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The high school football playoffs are supposed to get more challenging with every passing round.
Someone may want to inform Southeast of Saline.
The defending 2A champs bulldozed Phillipsburg 48-6 to claim a sectional victory, and advance to the final four for the fourth time in six years.
Southeast started this game as they often do, manufacturing a touchdown drive that ended with a Tiernan Ptacek connection to Bryson Lippold.
The Panthers responded well with a scoring drive of their own when Tanner Horinek got loose in the secondary and ran in a 37-yard house call to tie the game at 6-6.
That first-quarter score would be the last of Phillipsburg's season.
“We did make some little adjustments to help ourselves out but we played team defense and our guys stepped up,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “They knew we needed to eliminate the sweep against a good, physical football team.”
Grady Gebhardt put Southeast ahead with a rushing touchdown, then extended that lead with another before Ptacek found Lippold for his second touchdown pass of the day.
The Trojans led 26-6 going into the locker room, and on the other side, they picked up right where they left off as Gebhardt carried in his third touchdown of the day from five yards out, and his fourth from seven yards out to finish another four-touchdown day.
To put a bow on another dominant win, Amarion Holub housed a 67-yard punt return for Southeast of Saline’s first special teams touchdown of the season.
Ptacek showed out in the victory, completing 13-17 for 158 yards and two passing touchdowns, while Grady converted 21 carries into 172 yards and four scores.
Holub made the most of his opportunities in the backfield, turning five carries into 105 yards to go along with his special teams touchdown.
This marks the tenth-straight game in which the Trojans have allowed two or fewer touchdowns to their opponent.
For Phillipsburg, a strong season draws to a close at 7-4.
The Trojans, now 11-0, will host 10-0 Hoisington in Gypsum next Friday. The Cardinals eliminated Garden Plain 36-7 on Friday.
You can watch the full broadcast of Friday’s game in the window below 100% free.