By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After finishing their season a perfect 7-0, the Southeast of Saline Trojans, ranked fourth in the state in 3A, are headed to the playoffs.
For the first time since 2011, the Trojans will host a playoff game, and their first opponent will be the 4-4 Clay Center Tigers.
Clay Center narrowly slipped into the playoffs thanks to a win over Council Grove and a Chapman loss to Concordia last week.
“The kids are excited for the opportunity,” Clay Center head coach Marc Henry said. “We’ve been fortunate to get all nine of our games in and our kids are ready, especially our seniors.”
Turnovers have been a big problem for the Tigers, who have lost seven fumbles on the year. When they take care of the football however, they boast one of the best rushing offenses in the state.
“I felt like our kids have competed but we’ve really gotten in our own way with the fumble bug,” Henry said. “If we can play clean, I think we can finish the season out strong.”
Clay Center is led by running back Blake Frederick, who has carried the ball 120 times for 750 yards and five touchdowns.
“They’ve got a very good run game,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “Their guys up front do an excellent job of blocking and you have to be really fundamentally sound to slow that down.”
The Trojans head into the playoffs as the number one scoring defense in 3A, allowing just 38 points all year, 16 of which came with the second unit on the field.
“Our defense needs to continue to play well,” Gebhardt said. “It’s huge when you get into games like this when you can force teams to punt and get the ball back to your offense. We need to make sure they don’t put together long drives.”
Southeast has been firing on all cylinders on offense as well. The backfield of quarterback Jaxson Gebhardt and running back Bryant Banks has combined for 2,189 yards of total offense and 30 touchdowns in just seven games.
While Banks has been the focus of many opposing coaches, Henry and the Tigers have been very keen on Gebhardt this week.
“We’re really honed in on their quarterback,” he said. “He’s a savvy kid who makes good decisions and we’re gonna have to be very fundamentally sound to keep him contained.”
Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7pm. As always, Eagle Radio is the home for Trojan football, and games can be heard live on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM) or streamed on Salina Post.
The winner of this game will advance to play the winner of Colby (6-2) and Marysville (3-4).