By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
Southeast of Saline opened the Chance Ptacek era with a bang, storming back to beat Beloit 24-22 in dramatic fashion on Friday night.
SES scored 24 unanswered points, all in the fourth quarter, stunning a Beloit team that held a 22-0 advantage late in the third.
Growing pains were inevitable for a Southeast squad that graduated 16 seniors a season ago, but the Trojans grew up in a big way from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.
âThis isnât exactly how we drew it up, but that was âdonât flinchâ to a t and Iâm extremely proud of our guys,â SES head coach Chance Ptacek said. âA lot of our guys stepped up big and this was a true team effort.â
Beloit marched down the field and struck first on their opening drive, then capitalized on a Southeast fumble with a second score to go up 14-0 early.
Both defenses tightened up forcing turnovers on downs and a quick first half came to a close Beloit firmly in the driverâs seat.
Midway through the third, a tidal wave of momentum swung Beloitâs way when they blocked an SES punt, found paydirt to take a 22-0 lead then intercepted Tiernan Ptacek in the red zone to secure that advantage entering the fourth.
So many teams would have buckled under that pressure, but as they have so many times before Southeast dug deep and got to work, forcing a stop on defense, and driving 75 yards for their first touchdown of the day when Tiernan Ptacek hit Casson Klover from 33 yards out.
Another quick stop gave the ball back to SES, but a second pick in the red zone quickly put a damper on things as Beloit took over up 22-8 with just six minutes remaining.
Trailing and tired, the Trojan defense again forced Beloit to punt, and this time their efforts were rewarded as Ptacek found Klover for another 29-yard score, pulling Southeast within six with two minutes to go.
LaVone Hopkins threaded the onside kick attempt through the legs of a member of Beloitâs hands team, and miraculously, Southeast of Saline managed to recover.
With the wind in their sails, Southeast drove deep into the red zone, and Ptacek delivered a strike over the middle to a streaking Hendrix Lund for the tie and a third Trojan touchdown of the quarter.
On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Ptacek delivered a dangerous ball, but Lund did his best Spider-Man impression, vaulting into the air and webbing a spectacular one-handed snag to deliver Southeast the lead.
In a matter of just ten minutes, Southeast of Saline flipped a 22-point deficit into a 2-point lead.
âWe never really got our run game going, but they stayed softer when we started to spread it out,â Ptacek said. âWe were finally able to capitalize on some things on the plus side of the field after getting held out a few times but our kids finished strong.â
Beloit got one final chance to perform the Heimlich and did manage to drive into SES territory, but with time expiring Kain Sawyers and Tristan Swank spun the Trojan quarterback around, and a desperation heave landed in the breadbasket of Tiernan Ptacek for a game-sealing interception.
Ptacek finished his night 21-40 with 244 yards through the air, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
With this win, Southeast of Saline will open the season 1-0 for the 18th consecutive year, extending their state-best regular-season winning streak to an unfathomable 49 games.
The magic of Gypsum is still alive and well as Southeast is now 38-1 in their last 39 games hosted on their home campus.
The Trojans will hit the road next week as they travel to Lyons to open the league portion of their 2026 campaign.
You can re-live every minute of this thrilling come from behind win on demand below.