By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline Trojan football team will kick off their 2021 campaign on Friday when they welcome the Minneapolis Lions to town for a second straight season opener.
Last year, the teams met for the first time in two years and SES took home the victory by a final score of 32-16. The Trojans have won their last four against Minneapolis and have outscored the Lions 203-49 in that span.
The biggest unknown factor for SES heading into the first game of the season will be the all-new backfield of Luke Gebhardt and Matthew Rodriguez, but according to head coach Mitch Gebhardt, the two have been putting the pieces together in the lead up to this game.
“I think we had a good week of practice,” he said. “On Wednesday we focused on the offense, and it really felt like things came together during that practice.”
Offensively, SES will look for ways to maintain a balance between the pass and the run, something that made the Trojan offense so deadly in 2020.
That season, the Southeast ground game picked up 2,149 yards and 31 touchdowns, complimented by a passing attack that netted them 1,244 yards and another 14 touchdowns.
“It’s always important to establish the run, especially with the experience we have on our line,” Gebhardt said. “But we really want to be able to throw the football when we want to and to be as balanced as we can be.”
On the other side of the ball, Southeast will have to solidify a group that is missing a number of key seniors from a year ago, especially against the run-first offense of Minneapolis.
“They’ll probably be a ball-control type of offense and we’ll have to do a good job against the run,” he said. “They have less experience at the skill positions than they did a year ago but they still have a lot of talent so we have to be able to stop the run early.”
The Lions wrapped up their 2020 season at 4-5, but saw a lot of turnover in their offensive arsenal, most notably quarterback Trent Moeckel who led the team in passing and rushing attempts.
This will also be a rare back-to-back home stint against the same team for the Trojans, who hosted Minneapolis last season when their field was not yet ready for football.
“It’s always great to play in front of our home crowd,” Gebhardt said. “It’s nice to be familiar with your surroundings and we love getting a chance to play in front of our fans on Friday nights.”
Kickoff for the season opener is set for 7 pm at Southeast of Saline high school. As always, games can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) courtesy of Eagle Radio.
There is no limit on in-person attendance for SES home games but the school still recommends masks when social distancing is not possible.
For continued in-depth coverage of the 2021 SES football season, stay tuned to the Salina Post.