🏈 Mustangs reloaded and ready to defend 5A crown in 2026

By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post

Hollywood couldn’t have written a more perfect script than the one Salina Central rode to a seventh state football title in 2025.

With the raising of a trophy, and the lowering of a banner, one fact became undeniable: Salina Central football is back.

The Mustangs completely flipped the script on a disappointing 4-5, 2024 campaign, rolling through the regular season before taking down Topeka West, Goddard, Salina South, Great Bend and Basehor-Linwood to secure their first 5A crown in 20 years.

“Last year was fantastic,” Central head coach Mark Sandbo said. “Our kids got better every single week and the kids within our program understand the value in that. Every group is different but we had kids who played good, fast physical football and achieved at the highest level.”

For many programs across Kansas, a state football title is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and one that bears dwelling on and celebrating for years to come.

Despite the long gap between titles, at Central, deep playoff runs have been, and remain an expectation, and one the Mustangs are eager to make good on again in 2026.

“Our football culture has always been strong and you hear me say it all the time but pressure is privilege and there’s pressure here,” Sandbo said. “There’s pressure to win big football games and to win in November and I think our program has always been very good at chasing that. We can’t recruit guys to our program, you play with what you’ve got, and we feel like we’ve been able to maximize the potential of the kids we’ve had come through our system.”

Central did graduate a talented class of seniors that helped the program achieve the highest level, but the cupboards are far from bare for a team that retains 23 seniors entering 2026.

“We’ve got a new senior class here that wants to further cement their legacy after being part of something really special last year,” he said. “Their eyes are down the road, not in the past, and we really appreciate that.”

Chief among those returners is quarterback Griffin Hall, who put together a masterful junior campaign, passing for 1,827 yards, rushing for 982, and scoring 38 touchdowns on the way to a 5A state title.

“Quarterbacks are a big part of everything you do and we’ve been fortunate to have some great ones come through our system,” Sandbo said. “Griffin is a special kid and I think when we get on the field every team we play is going to wish they had #7 on their side.”

Hall does lose his running-mate in current NCAA Division-I wrestler Cooper Reves, but Alex Garcia, who played a huge role on the 2025 team at defensive back, will be eager to settle back into his natural position at tailback.

The biggest question mark for the Mustangs will come at wideout, where Central graduated each of their top six pass catchers from a year ago.

King Anderson, Jackson Leonard, Tucker Rice, Ethan Gragg and a handful of others will each have an opportunity to prove themselves in a receiving corps that boasts a ton of outside speed.

In the offensive trenches, Parker Pinks and Warrick VanBlaricon return alongside Phillip McGee, Stratton Cole and Reyce Kelley.

The defense sees a strong mix of returners and newcomers alike, with Kytrell Johnson and Ryne Callahan reprising their roles up front alongside a newcomer in Michael Gunderson.

Grant Ostmeyer will be the lone returning starter at linebacker, anchoring a new core group featuring Krue Humphrey, Eli Kreighbaum, and Mato Benoist.

Trae Wise and Alex Garcia will lead the charge in the secondary, showing the ropes to new faces like Javyn Armstrong, De’Bonier Gilmore, and Isaiah Wakes.

While newcomers do make up a good chunk of the troops on both sides of the ball, coach Sandbo and his staff have been excited to get this group on the field for quite some time, and will finally get that opportunity when the season kicks off on September 4th.

“We have to replace some really good football players but everyone across the state can say that, and that’s what good programs do,” he said. “We’ve had kids at the sub-varsity level that can do some really special things, and we have guys moving in that can do it as well or better in some spots than the kids we had last year. Everyone is going to have to raise their level of play to account for the guys we lost in 2025.”

Central’s schedule will provide the perfect crucible to test the Mustangs, both new and old, and to sharpen their iron ahead of what’s sure to be an exciting title defense.

“Our schedule is always tough,” he said. “It feels like the SEC west at times, and in the AVCTL you have to be excellent every week or you’re going to get beat, Andover proved that last year but when we play well we’re a tough out and our guys know that.”

With unchanged standards and unflinching goals, the Mustangs will be eager to cement their spot at the top of a loaded 5A class.

“You don’t want to be delusional but every year we say the same thing, we want to win the opener, we want to win the cup, we want to win the league and we want to win in November,” Sandbo said. “This team has the same potential we had a season ago and we’ve got guys that everyone we play will want to have but our guys want to represent the west in Emporia.”

The title defense begins with a battle for the Mayor’s Cup against cross-town rival Salina South this Friday.

2026 Salina Central Football Schedule
- 9/4 - vs. Salina South
- 9/11 - at Goddard
- 9/18 - vs. Ark City
- 9/25 - at Goddard-Eisenhower
- 10/2 - vs. Newton
- 10/9 - at Hutch
- 10/16 - vs. Andover Central
- 10/23 - at Andover