By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
Last week, the Southeast of Saline Trojans kept their undefeated record intact in a revenge game over Kingman, sending the Eagles packing 36-28 and punching their ticket to yet another 2A quarterfinal.
“I thought we were gritty,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “That was a very good Kingman team and we kept working and stayed after it.”
Now, Southeast will turn its attention to another undefeated foe in Hoisington, in a battle of 10-0 squads with a ticket to the 2A semis on the line.
This will also mark the third repeat playoff opponent for the Trojans, who defeated the Cardinals 44-21 in last year’s quarterfinal, but that loss will likely be on the minds of a Hoisington team that returns a great deal of talent from thier 2023 squad.
“They have a lot of guys with another year of experience and another year in the weight room,” Gebhardt said. “They’re a disciplined, well-coached team and they’ve been good for years. The kids believe in that coaching staff and they’re solid on both sides of the ball.”
Offensively, no team in Class 2A has matched Hoisington’s pace, as the Cardinals average an absurd 49 points, and 418 yards per game.
Much of that success has come on the back of the third-best rushing offense in 2A, which accounts for almost 300 yards a contest thanks to Teron Kraft, Tony Moore, Taylon Morales, and Mason Alderice.
From his spot at quarterback, Tony Moore has also taken another step forward this season, completing 60% of his passes for over 1,000 yards, 16 touchdowns, and just two picks.
“We have to continue to play team defense and we’ll have to get a lot of guys to the football,” he said. “This time of year you have to play physical, Hoisington does and hopefully we do too. Our guys have to be strong up front and we need to get a lot of hats to the ball.”
On defense, the Cardinals have looked just as impressive, holding their opponents to just 8.3 points per game.
“They’re big up front defensively, their linebackers do a good job of getting to the football and their d-backs are strong. There’s a reason they’re the sixth-ranked scoring defense in 2A.”
If there’s one knock on Hoisington, it may very well be in their resume, where the Cardinals opponents finished 34-58 overall, 2-10 in the playoffs, and with just three records north of .500.
Meanwhile, SES has been battle-tested from the beginning, with a combined opponent record of 50-44 (7-8 in the playoffs), against six teams with a .500 or better record, including two (Ellsworth and Clay Center) that still find themselves playing in this week’s quarterfinals.
“Playing those tough road games is big in preparing us for a game like this,” Gebhardt said. “When we started the year we had some younger guys that spent a lot of last year on the sideline and getting them into some big games makes them mature fast and realize that every play matters.”
Kickoff between the Trojans and Cardinals is set for 7:00 on the campus of Hoisington High School and as always, the game can be heard on KINA (910 AM or 107.5 FM), or streamed with live audio and video on the Salina Post HERE.