Picture courtesy of Tanner Colvin

WICHITA — Salina Central’s offensive juggernaut finally met its match, and then some.

Despite racking up 460 total yards, the Mustangs could not keep pace with unbeaten Kapaun-Mt. Carmel in their second-round Class 5A playoff matchup Friday night as the Crusaders scored on all 10 of their possessions on the way to a 70-28 rout at Wichita Heights High School.

Kapaun ran 56 fewer plays than the Mustangs and still rolled up 502 yards, including 467 on the ground, with five of its 10 scoring runs covering 40-plus yards. Tailback Ken Huff had 174 yards rushing and six touchdowns before giving way to backup Jackson Corley, who finished with 191 yards and scores of 78 and 65 yards, while fullback Preston Burgess racked up 93 yards on eight carries and the other two touchdowns.

An early Central turnover led to an 8-yard Huff touchdown run on Kapaun’s first play from scrimmage, and the Crusaders led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter before Central’s offense finally broke through.

“It kind of felt early on like it was going to have to be blow-for-blow,” said Central coach Mark Sandbo, whose Mustangs finished with a 6-4 record. “I think what we did tonight kind of epitomizes some things that we’ve done all season.

“We had some chances to make it a little tighter, and we couldn’t finish out drives.”

Central’s four scoring drives all covered 75 or more yards, while Kapaun relied on explosive plays.

For Central, senior quarterback Griffin Hall had a big night, rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, completing 34 of 52 passes for 221 yards with one TD and even catching a halfback pass from Quis’eion Newman for 9 yards.

“He’s one of the best to do it,” Sandbo said of Hall, who as a junior last year helped guide the Mustangs to a 5A state championship.

The Mustangs also got big games from their top two receivers, with Eli Kreighbaum catching 12 passes for 130 yards and King Anderson 10 for 116 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown.

“We needed a couple of lucky bounces, whether it was a turnover or an onside kick, just to maybe steal even more momentum and steal a possession, and we just weren’t able to do that,” Sandbo said.

Central opened the playoffs last week with a 17-10 victory at home over Andover Central after going 5-3 during the regular season.