By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
After a trip to the 8-Man Division I semifinals in 2023 and a 7-1 finish to the regular season in 2024, the Ell-Saline Cardinals were primed and ready to make another deep playoff run.
The Cards dispatched Mankato-Rock Hills with ease in week nine, but saw their dreams washed out in the midst of a torrential downpour, and a shock 14-12 upset at the hands of the Madison Bulldogs.
Some programs would have simply wiped the slate clean then and there, hoping to put a game like that behind them, but for Ell-Saline, the sting of that defeat has become the fuel for a revenge tour.
“We are not ready to forget that game,” Ell-Saline head coach Joe Roche said. “We’ve been ready for this season to begin since a few days after the Madison game, and we do feel like we have unfinished business.”
That opportunity to right last year’s wrongs will be in the hands of many of the same players who were part of that second-round matchup, as Ell-Saline returns a slew of talented athletes on both sides of the ball.
Reese Krone reprises his role as the Cardinal signal caller and will return to the backfield with a newly promoted Kas Kramer, who should add to the offense on the ground and in the passing attack.
Trey Williams will anchor a mostly new receiving corps while Julian Roche and newly converted Branton Gosvener lead the offensive line.
On defense, Williams and Wyatt Allen join veteran Reese Krone on the line, while Gosvener and Collin Dent reprise their roles in the linebacking corps alongside newcomer Jaxsen Seed.
Kas Kramer will patrol the secondary as another 2-way stalwart opposite Landon May, who will need to step up in place of the injured Lucas Correa.
Ell-Saline’s veteran class goes beyond just the returning starters, as even some of the “newcomers” have been around the program for 3-4 years.
“We’ve got some kids coming back who are upperclassmen, but because of the personnel that we had last year, they didn’t really get a chance to show off what they could do on Friday nights,” Roche said. “Those are the kids we need to step up and solidify themselves in those roles.”
Regardless of who steps onto the field on any given Friday night, Ell-Saline has established a reputation and a standard of excellence that’s become synonymous with the red and black throughout their last two seasons.
“We’re gonna outhit you, we’re gonna outblock you, and we’re going to be the most physical team on the field every single week,” he said. “New players don’t change that, and new rules don’t change that. Our goal is to do that and to do it with good discipline every week, that’s Cardinal football.”
Ell-Saline gets a good test in week one with a tough road opponent as the 4th-ranked Cardinals battle the 3rd-ranked Wildcats in Hanover.
Full 2025 Football Schedule
9/5 - at Hanover
9/12 - at Osborne
9/19 - at Norwich
9/26 - vs. Canton-Galva
10/3 - at Solomon
10/10 - vs. Little River
10/17 - at Goessel
10/24 - vs. Central Plains