By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The NCAA has released its all-league football first and second teams and the rosters are rife with Trojans from the 2020 season.
Southeast of Saline accounted for eight of the thirteen first team spots, six of the 24 on the second team, and one on special teams.
On offense, where the Trojans averaged more than 36 points per game, Sterling Harp and Dawson Adams took home first team honors on the offensive line.
Jaxson Gebhardt, who finished the season with 2,140 all purpose yards and 26 total touchdowns, was named the first-team all NCAA quarterback.
Bryant Banks, who wrapped up 2020 with over 900 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the year, was named one of the first-team all NCAA running backs.
Tyler Breeding, who led SES with 34 receptions for 357 yards and a staggering 14 two-point conversions, rounded out the offense, being named to the first-team wide receiving core. Chase Poague received second-team honors for his contributions to the SES air game as well.
On defense, where Southeast held opponents to just 73 points all season and completed a stretch of sixteen consecutive quarters without allowing an opponent to score, three players took home first-team honors while five more were named to the second-team.
The first-team honorees consisted of DT Sterling Harp and DB Jaxson Gebhardt, who impressively made all-league first-team on both offense and defense; and Matthew Rodriguez, who led the Trojans with 95 tackles and three sacks.
Second-team honorees included Dawson Adams and Dalton Bunch on the D-line, Tyler Breeding at linebacker and Luke Gebhardt and Chase Poague in the secondary.
Rounding out the all NCAA second-team was Eli Harris for his contributions as Southeast’s punter, made all the more impressive by the fact that the Trojans punted less than three times per game.
The full list of NCAA first and second-team honorees can be found HERE.
Of the 10 Trojans named to the NCAA all-league teams, four (Matthew Rodriguez, Chase Poague, Dalton Bunch and Luke Gebhardt) will be returning for the 2021 season.
Feature image of the team courtesy Jessica Kendall Sprecker.