By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Sacred Heart Knights will return to Salina for a big regular-season finale tonight as they welcome in the Republic County Buffaloes.
This game will serve as a win-and-in contest for the final playoff spot from District 5, as the Knights (1-6) and Buffaloes (0-7) each come in in search of their first district win.
Despite their recent struggles, Sacred Heart continues to get healthier each and every week, and believe they could be a prime candidate to play spoiler if they can crack the 1A bracket.
“This is absolutely the first week of the playoffs for us, there’s no other way to look at it,” Knights head coach Norm Jennings said. “Our guys don’t want this season to end for another month and they want to be the most dangerous 4-seed out there. They’ve got the potential to come in and be overlooked as we start to get some guys back and healthy.”
That opportunity seems likely, as the Knights prepare to do battle with a Republic County team down on their luck in 2023.
The Buffs have struggled in all facets of the game, having been outscored 381-18 collectively on the year, and ranking dead last in 1A in total offense and scoring defense.
Despite those struggles, Sacred Heart won’t be taking their week eight opponent lightly, and will be ready to come flying out of the gates come kickoff on Friday night.
“Republic County is fast and they’ve got a lot of heart,” Jennings said. “Like us, they’ve had a lot of injuries but they never quit on offense and they’ve adapted a lot with different personnel and improved throughout the year.”
In order to collect this must-win victory, the Knights will need to play with momentum, and take care of the football on each possession.
“We are going to come out of that locker room amped up and hitting fast,” Jennings said. “We want to get a quick start, put our foot on their neck, and never let it off. Games have gone our way when we’ve done that and that’s what we need to see tonight.”
Kickoff between the Knights and Buffaloes is set for 7:00 at Bissell Field on the campus of KWU, and as always the game can be streamed with live audio and video on the Salina Post HERE.