By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After an impressive 50-30 road victory over the Elkhart Wildcats, the Ell-Saline Cardinals are moving on to the next round of the playoffs.
Standing in their way is no. 3 ranked Smith Center, who will enter this week at 7-1 and fresh off a round-one bye.
After winning their first two games of the season, the Cardinals stumbled to a five game losing streak, but back-to-back wins have given Ell-Saline some momentum heading into this week.
“We needed those two wins these last couple of weeks,” Ell-Saline head coach Joe Roche said. “We’re a heck of a lot more confident than we were a month ago and even when we made mistakes last week there was no panic, the guys adjusted well and did what they needed to do.”
The task ahead of the Cardinals is a tall one, as Smith Center, after losing their season opener to 2A Norton, has won seven straight, including a 46-13 win over Ell-Saline three weeks ago.
“We know we can play with Smith Center,” Roche said. “But we have to survive and endure their aggressiveness and the question is how long we can do that with less depth than they have.”
SCHS is led by sophomore running back Jake Sasse, who has carried the ball 138 times for 732 yards and seven TD’s this season.
“He’s a load to stop,” Roche said. “If they can just keep running him at you they will so we have to make sure we can slow him down.”
Alongside Sasse in the backfield will be a pair of senior backs in Chase Maxwell and Nate Hendrich, and quarterback Nathan Jaeger. The trio add another 958 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.
Smith Center has been good through the air too, with Jaeger throwing for seven touchdowns to just one interception.
For Ell-Saline, the name of the game is time of possession and survival as they will need long, sustained drives to keep the Smith Center offense on the sideline for as long as possible.
“If we have a chance to win it in the fourth quarter I like our chances,” Roche said. “But we have to be able to survive those first three quarters and still have the energy to make that push in the fourth.”
The winner of this game will await the winner of Sedgewick (8-1) and Oakley (7-2), who each beat Ell-Saline in the regular season.