By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
When the Southeast of Saline Trojans kick off their season on Friday night, it will be at the friendly confines of Steve Fritz Field, rather than on the road as scheduled.
With the Minneapolis Lions still working on installing their new turf field, the Trojans picked up a free home game, which suits them just fine.
“We love playing at home, it’s a great atmosphere for football,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “We’re excited anytime we get to play a game here and now we get three in a row here so it worked out well for us.”
Southeast is coming off of a 7-3 season, while Minneapolis finished their 2019 campaign at 4-5.
This will be the sixth meeting in the last ten seasons between the Trojans and Lions, with SES dominating the series 4-1.
Despite the fact that both teams made the transition to class 2A in 2018, the league rivals have not faced off since a 53-13 blowout win for SES in 2017.
Southeast of Saline will put the ball in the hands of senior quarterback Jaxson Gebhardt, who led the way for the Trojans in 2019 with over 2,000 yards of total offense and 21 touchdowns.
“We have to contain the Gebhardt kid,” Minneapolis head coach Tom Flax said. “I think defensively if we’re able to contain him and not let him get loose or give him extra time in the pocket to find a receiver, that will help. We have to make other kids beat us.”
One of those “other kids” is senior running back Bryant Banks, who rushed for 21 touchdowns of his own in 2019, and finished the season just shy of 1,000 yards rushing.
Minneapolis however, has a very good core of returners on defense, and should be able to limit the big play potential of the Southeast of Saline offense.
“They’re going to be very good,” Gebhardt said. “They have a bunch of players back on defense and they’re gonna be solid everywhere. We have to be patient and understand that every play is not gonna be a big play.”
For the Lions, the offense is run through Senior tailback Daniel Watson, who himself finished just 20 yards shy of 1,000 in 2019.
Minneapolis will also get a boost from senior quarterback Trent Moeckel, who will be getting his first varsity start on Friday night.
“Moeckel is going to present a little more of a threat in throwing the football,” Gebhardt said. “He’s a smart kid, and I think he’ll be a great game manager for them. We’ve gotta stop their running game and make sure that we’re ready for it when they do pass.”
Kickoff is set for 7pm on Friday night, as both teams look to start their 2020 season off on the right foot.
As always, Eagle Radio will be the home for Southeast of Saline sports, and games can be heard on 910 AM and 107.5 FM.