All it took was one deep ball for Salina South to throw caution to the wind.

That and a sideline conversation between coach Christien Ozores and his two outside receivers.

“They wanted the ball after that first drive,” Ozores said of senior wideouts Jay Curtis and Noah Hines, who along with junior quarterback Izrael Telles combined for five passing touchdowns Friday in South’s breakthrough 35-33 Mayor’s Cup victory over defending state champion Salina Central at a packed Salina Stadium. “We ran it 12 times, I think, which we had charted.”

“And so, they wanted the ball and I said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to keep running the ball and then we’ll find ways to get you guys the ball.’ And then they got the ball and made plays.”

Did they ever.

In a first half dominated by the two defenses, South’s big break came just 11 seconds before intermission when Telles rolled to his right and launched a 39-yard touchdown strike to a wide-open Hines for a 7-3 Cougar lead. He followed that in the third quarter with a 40-yard scoring pass to Curtis, a 50-yarder to Hines and another for 4 yards to Hines that put his team in front for good, 28-24.

It was a stellar Cougar debut for Hines, a transfer from Sacred Heart, who finished with six catches for 106 yards and three touchdowns. Curtis tacked on three receptions for 79 yards and two scores, while Telles completed 11 of 19 passes for 197 yards.

After the South defense secured the victory by stopping Central’s potential tying two-point conversion attempt with 1:26 left, the Cougars celebrated their first victory in the series since 2020.

Senior Noah Hines

“During practice we knew we could beat them deep,” Hines said. “Our deep concepts are really good and Coach O designs them really well.”

“We didn’t want to show that much in our soap scrimmage, but we talked to Coach O on the sidelines and during halftime, and he was like, ‘We can take these guys deep.’ They couldn’t really hang with us deep, and our speed was unmatched, and we executed perfectly.”

For Hines, a standout last year at Class 1A Sacred Heart, it was his first in-person taste of a rivalry that had been dominated by Central in recent years.

“I have family ties over at South — family friends — so just coming here and watching the playoff game last year and rooting for them and adapting to the atmosphere was amazing,” Hines said of watching Central’s Class 5A quarterfinal victory a year ago that extended its streak against the Cougars to six games.

Curtis, who torched the Mustangs for three touchdowns in last year’s season-opening 31-21 loss, has seen both sides of the Mayor’s Cup clash after spending his freshman year at Central and then transferring to South as a sophomore.

That made finally getting the better of Central all the sweeter.

Senior Jay Curtis

“Absolutely,” he said. “With Central being on the winning side of it, then us coming over, it’s been a couple of years, but we’ve been working, and it’s starting to show.”

“Ever since losing to them in the playoffs, it lit a fire under us. So, we grinded during the winter, we grinded during the spring, and all summer. And I think the results are finally starting to show.”

South had some success with its rushing attack to start the game, advancing to Central’s 8-yard line behind tailback Armane Redmond before turning the ball over on downs. And when the Mustangs adjusted their defense accordingly, that was exactly what Ozores was looking for.

“We did a good job running the ball, and then they started loading the box and playing softer on the outside,” Ozores said. “So, we felt like we could use our speed and our athleticism to beat them over the top.”

“If they’re not going to let us run the ball, then we’ve got to have answers, and our guys did have answers, and they did a great job making plays.”

The play that proved to be the game winner was a pinpoint pass down the left sideline from Telles that Curtis hauled in against double coverage for a 35-24 advantage to start the fourth quarter.

Telles, who gained valuable experience as a sophomore starter last year, completed six of his eight second half passes for 145 yards and four touchdowns.

“With all the stuff we did during the summer, it has really built his confidence up,” Curtis said of Telles. “And us hanging out with him on and off the field, it’s really built a major connection between all of us.”

Telles, came on strong toward the end of last season, saw Friday’s performance as another step in his progression.

Junior Izrael Telles

“Just having that type of experience helped me,” he said. “It just made me more confident going into the big games that I had to play last year.”

Despite last year’s unlikely playoff run, South finished with a 3-8 record after going 1-7 in the regular season. But the postseason success made the Cougars hungry for more.

Taking another step by knocking off Central in the opener, they now have their sights on the program’s first winning record since 2014.

“I hope it’s a momentum-builder,” said Ozores, whose Cougars face another test this Friday when they play host to Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League foe Maize. “Not just for us at the varsity level, but for our younger guys as well, seeing that it can be done.”

“And I saw a lot of our middle schoolers out there tonight, too, and so seeing those guys is really cool, and to see the community come out.”