By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Ell-Saline Cardinals continued their impressive run of excellent form in 2025, finishing 9-2 with a pair of playoff wins before falling to the eventual 8M-DI runners-up in Lincoln.
In their 8-Man era, Joe Roche has led the Cardinals to a 33-7 record in four years, winning six playoff games and reaching a state semifinal in that span.
Despite repeatedly losing stars to graduation, Ell-Saline finds a way to string together a winner every year, playing their patented brand of unconventional but physical and effective football.
“Our culture of finding guys was established all the way back in 1997,” Roche said. “We’ve always played with guys who may have been out of position, but their “want to” was just so high, and sometimes that supersedes talent at the high school level. That’s something we pride ourselves on, and we have several guys that might play three different positions this year, but we’re all about working for each other.”
In 2025, Reese Krone led Ell-Saline with 2,200 all-purpose yards, 34 total touchdowns, 45 tackles and 8 sacks as the rare hybrid of quarterback and defensive end.
Julian Roche, Ell-Saline’s next quarterback, comes from an even less likely spot, having spent the last two years anchoring the offensive line on Varsity while also acting as the team’s JV quarterback.
Roche will be one of many Cardinals with a chance to step into the spotlight for a team that graduated six huge pieces in 2025.
“I’m excited to see these guys finally get their chance to get on the field consistently,” Coach Roche said. “We’ve got some good kids that a lot of people don’t know about yet, and they play hard and play for each other. They’re inexperienced, and there will be a learning curve, but they want to learn, and I’ll take that at the beginning of the season.”
Jaxsen Seed, Asher Kejr and Branton Gosvener will each join Roche in the backfield, with JT Moye leading the charge out wide and Kolter Christy, Maddox Moore and Luke Walker carving paths on the O-Line.
Christy, Moore and Walker will also lead the way on the D-Line alongside Trevor Hunziker, backed up by Roche, Gosvener and Seed in the linebacking corps.
In the secondary, Ty Tillberg and Spencer Rains will look to seal the edges at corner while JT Moye patrols the deepest parts of the field at safety.
While the names and faces around the program have changed, the expectations remain the same, and Ell-Saline will enter the new season with their eyes set on the ultimate prize this fall.
“We want to make a deep run in the playoffs and we want to be a tough out by the end of the year,” Roche said. “This group wants a state championship, and I love that. I don’t want to be coaching for a district championship, and that’s where they’re at. We’ve been looking forward to this season since last year, and we had a great summer in the weight room. Regardless of what our record is I think we’ll be a tough out.”
The Cardinals will also be battle-tested come playoff time after facing a ruthless gauntlet of a schedule that sees them square off with 9-2 Little River, 10-1 Wakeeney-Trego, 11-2 Lincoln and the defending 8M-DII champs in 13-0 Hoxie.
“This is a tough schedule and we have a tough district again but I like our chances,” he said. “I know our kids and their families, and I’ll take our guys against anyone. Once we realize who we are and what we can do I think we’re gonna be very tough.”
That gauntlet begins on September 4th when the Cardinals host Little River in Brookville
Ell-Saline 2026 Football Schedule
- 9/4 - vs. Little River
- 9/11 - at Central Plains
- 9/18 - at Hanover
- 9/25 - at Wakeeney-Trego
- 10/2 - vs. Hoxie
- 10/9 - vs. Bennington
- 10/16 - at Mankato-Rock Hills
- 10/23 - vs. Lincoln