By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Southeast of Saline Trojan football team kept the good times rolling in 2021 with another resounding win, defeating Goodland 53-0.
This is the third shutout in as many weeks for a Trojan team that has outscored their opponents 327-12 this season.
“I thought we came out with some fire in the second half,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “We got ahead in the first but we really handled the things we needed to in the second.”
With this win, Southeast advances to 6-0 and remains one of just eight undefeated 3A teams in the state, while Goodland falls to 0-6.
The Trojan offense remained balanced once again, but it was running back Matthew Rodriguez who stole the show, carrying the ball eight times for 72 yards and four touchdowns on four consecutive runs.
Rogriguez was also one of the team’s biggest impact players on the defensive side of the ball, wreaking havoc on a Goodland offense that coughed up four turnovers in the loss.
“We send him on those blitzes because we know he can get to where he needs to be and he’s been stripping the ball since he was a freshman,” Gebhardt said. “Kids have a knack for that and we’re sure glad that he’s on our side.”
The Trojan defense once again put on a clinic for not only stopping the run, but for running the Cowboys in the wrong direction.
Goodland finished the day with -46 yards of rushing offense, and just 54 yards of total offense on a night when the team never sniffed the end zone.
Despite missing his top two receivers, Luke Gebhardt didn’t miss a beat, completing 10-11 for 360 yards and a touchdown. Luke also picked off Cowboy quarterback Cole Linton from his spot in the secondary.
“The turnovers were huge,” Gebhardt said. “When we can get a short field for our offense when they’re playing well our guys really do a good job of getting it in the end zone.”
SES will be back in action for their final home game next week when they play host to the 4-2 Smoky Valley Vikings.
With a win and a Scott City loss in Colby, Southeast of Saline will secure the top seed out of their district, if not, the Trojans will head to Scott City to finish the job on October 22nd.
Here are the current district six standings heading into week seven
SES: 3-0
Scott City: 2-1
Russell: 2-1
Smoky Valley: 1-2
Colby: 1-2
Goodland: 0-3
For more on the SES football team in 2021 stay tuned to the Salina Post.