By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Ell-Saline Cardinals made their first foray into the world of 8-man football in 2022 and posted a strong finish, wrapping up the inaugural campaign with a record of 6-3.
With a year of 8-man football under their belts, and a wealth of returning veterans, the Cardinals will look to step up their game and compete with some of the top teams in 8M-DI throughout a challenging 2023 schedule.
“A lot of these guys got an extensive amount of playing time last year because of some injuries we sustained so we bring back a lot of snaps,” Ell-Saline head coach Joe Roche said. “We’ve got a good group of kids and this is gonna be a fun year.”
While the adjustments and comforts of playing a new brand of football are still cementing themselves, this flock has 3-4 years of experience playing together, something that continues to show week in and week out.
“We feel we can hang out hat on our toughness and experience,” Roche said. “Hopefully, we can put together some good game plans on both sides of the ball from that. This core has been together for a long time now and they know what it takes to win on Friday nights.”
The Cardinals will once again lean on the experience of Marshall Johnson at quarterback, with Ryder Dent taking on a new role as a fullback, and Reese Krone moving to tight end.
Kas Kramer and Joe Hiechel reprise their roles as the team’s leading wideouts, while Victor Ruiz, Jake Tillberg, and Hunter Holmgren lead the charge on the offensive line.
That trio in the trenches will also anchor the D-Line, in addition to Dillon Moore and Aiden Culver, with Hiechel and Kramer patrolling the secondary.
Rounding out the defense is a deep corps of linebackers, several of whom will rotate in at other positions as well, including Ryder and Collin Dent, Reese Krone, and Hunter Holmgren.
While most of the Cardinal’s pieces remain intact, their identity on both sides of the ball is still taking shape and could be the key to unlocking their full potential.
“We still need to figure out what kind of team we want to be,” he said. “Are we going to be an old-school team under center? Do we want to run out of the shotgun? A combination of both? We also need to sort out what kind of defense best suits our strengths and athletes on that side of the ball.”
There’s no question that Ell-Saline handled their business against a majority of their schedule last year, but the focus in 2023 will be on closing the gap to the prestigious programs on their schedule like Little River and Clifton-Clyde.
“I want to be more competitive against the teams that beat us last year,” Roche said. “We didn’t just lose those games, we got beat up pretty good and we don’t want revenge but we feel like we should have been able to play with those teams.”
The Cardinals will kick off the new season on Friday, September 1st when they host Moundridge in Brookville.