By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Through the first five games of the season Southeast of Saline looks completely unstoppable.
The Trojans have cruised to a 5-0 record, outscoring their opponents 184-24 and allowing points in just two quarters this season.
SES proved that they could dominate big teams too, handing 4-0 Colby a 32-8 loss on the road last week.
The Trojans will now turn their attention to the Goodland Cowboys, who limp into this game at 2-3.
While this Goodland team is much better than the teams of years past, the 2020 season has taken a toll on them, as starting quarterback Leyton Cure, who is questionable to start tonight, has missed the last two games due to injury.
Cure isn’t the one dealing with injuries for the Cowboys, star running back and leading tackler Mason Murray is also questionable after missing some time in last weeks double-overtime loss to Smoky Valley.
Cure and Murray have accounted for 940 of Goodlands 1,342 total yards on offense this season, and will be dearly missed if they are unable to go on Friday night.
Goodland has also come up just short in two overtime games this year, falling to Bridgeport 26-20 in week two, and coming up just shy 21-20 against Smoky Valley last week.
While the losses have been tough, fourth year head coach Chase Topliff has been impressed with how his team has responded.
“Our kids are very tough mentally,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of tough years so the program is gaining some traction and the kids are buying in. They’ve been disappointed in the losses but they keep coming back every week and preparing really well.”
For SES, it’s business as usual as the team prepares for its fourth home game of the year.
“We were excited to beat Colby but when Monday starts for us we realize that we have another opponent and if we don’t lock in on that team Friday night isn’t gonna go well for us,” SES coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “Our focus has to be on going 1-0 every week.”
Regardless of who gets the start at QB for Goodland, the Cowboys will be the most pass-happy team that SES has faced this season, with 748 yards through the air this year compared to just 594 on the ground.
While Coach Topliff respects the SES defense, he is very confident in his group's ability to hang with the Trojans.
“At the end of the day they’re high school kids too,” he said. “We’ve got to take the battle to them instead of waiting for them to make the moves they want to make.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm at Southeast of Saline as the Trojans look to go 1-0 in order to go 6-0. As always, Eagle Radio is the home for SES football and games can be heard on KINA (910 AM/107.5 FM) or streamed live on Salina Post.