By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
It may have taken Salina Centralās football program 20 years to reascend to the top of the 5A world, but as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Emporia on Friday night, one thing was for certain.
It was worth the wait.
The Mustangs trailed 14-10 at the half but rode a 41-point second-half stampede to a 51-34 win over Basehor-Linwood, staking their claim to a seventh state title.
Before the game, Mark Sandbo said that winning a state championship would take three things.
It would take consistently getting seven points instead of three, which the Mustangs did, converting seven of their eleven drives into touchdowns, including six of their seven second-half drives.
It would take winning the turnover battle, which the Mustangs did, scooping up two loose fumbles, and intercepting the Bobcats on three separate occasions, all without turning the ball over once themselves.
And finally, it would take special teams excellence, which the Mustangs had, recovering a muffed return, keeping the pressure on in the kicking game, and knocking through a big field goal before the half.
While all of these were crucial factors, a 300-yard, four-touchdown performance from Cooper Reves certainly didnāt hurt.
The Mustangs set the tone right out of the gate, driving 75 yards on their opening drive and taking the gameās first lead on a Griffin Hall connection to Bodie Rodriguez.
Basehor-Linwood wasnāt content to let Central off the hook, scoring touchdowns on back-to-back drives before an Elijah Duxler 27-yard field goal cut the lead to 14-10 at halftime.
In the locker room, both offenses ate their Wheaties and returned to the field for a second half that would feature nine total touchdowns and 61 combined points.
The Bobcats were scheduled to get the ball to start the second half, but fumbled on the return, allowing Central an opportunity to reclaim the lead.
Hall wasted little time doing just that, engineering a touchdown drive he capped off himself on a three-yard run to take a 17-14 lead.
With three lead changes already, many in Emporia braced for a back-and-forth battle.
The Mustang defense had other ideas.
After an Eli Kreighbaum interception, Hall delivered a 13-yard dime to Elijah Duxler to extend the lead to 24-10.
Basehor-Linwood desperately needed a score but fumbled the ball away to Alex Garcia instead, setting up the latest episode of the Cooper Reves show.
Reves, who had a minimal impact in the first half, exploded for a 54-yard touchdown run and made an executive decision that he would not be stopped for the rest of the night.
After forcing a turnover on downs, the Mustangs went back to Reves, who punched in his second score of the day to put Central ahead 37-14.
Another interception, this time to Jesus Delgado, may have finally woken up the Bobcat offense, but their comeback bid would be too little too late.
Basehor-Linwood found a spark when Carson Dixon found Nash Morrison for a 75-yard touchdown.
The Bobcats did recover an onside kick, and Dixon found Morrison again to cut the lead to 11, but as quickly as they found life, Cooper Reves extinguished it, running in his third touchdown of the day to make the Mustang lead 44-26.
Another downfield bomb trimmed the lead back to 11, but Reves again dashed that hope with his fourth touchdown run in as many drives to put Central back up by three scores.
One last turnover in the form of an Alex Garcia interception sealed the deal as the Mustangs took to victory formation and began the celebration on the sideline.
For Basehor-Linwood, their best season in program history comes to a close at 12-1, with their first-ever state runner-up finish.
For Salina, a party that will extend long into the night is only just beginning, as the Mustangs return home from Emporia, 5A state trophy in hand.
What a day to be a Mustang.
