By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Salina Central football team held on to win another thriller on Friday night, knocking off Valley Center in a 34-31 homecoming victory.
With this win, the Mustangs move to 4-1 while the Hornets fall to 3-2.
This game saw six lead changes and plenty of drama, but when all was said and done, Central delivered the final blow, knocking their AVCTL foe to the canvas with a late haymaker.
Jack Gordon and Hunter Mowery were the stars of the show, hooking up on three touchdown connections, with Mowery hauling in well over 100 yards through the air.
Valley Center took the opening kick and struck first, as Dai’Mont Mucker burst up the sideline for a 15-yard dash to open the scoring.
The Mustangs immediately responded with a touchdown drive of their own, led by Elijah Wilson, who carried the ball for more than 60 yards throughout the sequence, capping it off with a short run to even the score at seven.
After getting a stop, Gordon found Mowery for the first of their three scoring linkups, this time from 18 yards out, to give Central their first lead of the game, but all that work was undone on the very next play as Mucker took the ball 75 yards to the house for the 14-14 tie.
On the heels of another Elijah Wilson touchdown run, Central elected to run an onside kick, and initially recovered the ball to take possession up seven in the final minutes of the half, but the call was overturned, giving the Hornets another possession.
Central forced a quick punt, but after muffing the return, the Mustang special teams gave up a safety, and Mucker ran in his third score of the half on the ensuing possession to give Valley Center a 23-21 lead at the intermission.
In need of a response out of the locker room, Central found themselves in dire straits facing a 3rd and 30, but back-t0-back unsportsmanlike conduct penalties led to a Hornet ejection and put the Mustangs in striking distance, allowing them to capitalize on the second of the three Mowery touchdowns and reclaim the 27-24 lead.
Not content to go down without a fight, Hornet tailback Rylan Bayley got in on the fun from 62 yards out to put Valley Center back on top going into the fourth, but a missed Hornet field goal gave the Mustangs life and Central never looked back.
The Mustangs once again drove the ball into Hornet territory and on third and five, Mowery completed his hat trick, housing another post route over the middle for 46 yards and the last touchdown Central would need to win it 34-31.
Salina Central will be back on the road at Andover Central next week while Valley Center returns home to host Andover.