By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
Following a rough year in 2020, the Salina Central Mustang football team has seen much improvement in 2021, entering the second half of the season at a very respectable 2-2.
Central started their season with a bang, defeating Haysville Campus 44-6 before falling in back-to-back games to Goddard Eisenhower and Andover.
The Mustangs rebounded well with a big win in Valley Center and will look to maintain that momentum throughout their trip to Ark City this week.
“I think we’ve established an identity on both sides of the ball,” Central head coach Mark Sandbo said. “Against Andover, I felt for the first time in a year and a half I knew what we could hang our hat on. Defensively we’re a physical football team that’s really good in the box and offensively we got back to running the ball effectively.”
Despite being a run-first team, the Mustang offense has had some success in the passing game as well thanks to senior quarterback Parker Kavanagh, who has seven touchdowns to just three interceptions at the break.
Kavanagh has also racked up 335 yards on the ground, beside a thunder and lightning backfield featuring Kenyon McMillan and Micah Moore.
McMillan leads the team with 414 yards while Moore has punched in a team-leading six touchdowns on the ground this season.
The defense has looked solid as well, holding opponents to just over 100 yards on the ground per game and limiting those same opponents to just three rushing scores this season.
While the rushing defense has looked good, Central has struggled at times with opposing air attacks, as through four games they have surrendered 716 passing yards and seven touchdowns.
Despite this, the Mustangs have already eclipsed their win total from a season ago and are hopeful that they can continue to get even better as the playoffs approach.
“We want to be playing our best football when our best football matters,” Sandbo said. “We’re continuing to improve week in and week out but we have to be more efficient passing the football and we need to be better at defending the pass as well.”
Central will visit an Ark City team that they stunned a season ago, looking to continue building a quality resume in 2021.
“We’re going to need some help but we still want to win our league and we want to win in November,” he said. “The community of Salina expects that their teams are going to be winning in November but right now we’re taking things one week at a time.”
After Ark City, Central will finish out their season with three straight games at home against Andover Central, Goddard, and Salina South.
For continuing coverage of Salina Central football in 2021 stay tuned to the Salina Post.