FINAL:
SALINA CENTRAL 68
TOPEKA WEST 22
Salina Central entered Friday night as the No. 2 seed in its bracket, holding a 7-1 record, the program’s most wins since 2022. The last playoff win for the football came in the same year.
The Mustangs opponent, Topeka West, had a tough regular season and brought a 1-7 record to Salina Stadium, while allowing 52 points per game this year.
The season statistics for both teams played out over four quarters of playoff action. The Mustangs offense began with the football and used three plays, coupled with a defensive pass interference penalty, to drive 60+ yards and score first in exactly 50 seconds of game time.
Central showcased its passing attack when inside the red zone and its two senior receivers were the beneficiaries. Bodie Rodriguez and Gannon Cole combined to score five touchdowns in the first half alone, three for Rodriguez and two for Cole.
While the Mustangs offense built their big lead, the defense was right there with them. The second touchdown on the night came off a pick-six by junior defensive back Trae Wise. Wise added a second interception in the second half as well, his first two turnovers of the season.
On top of winning the turnover battle, Central’s defense began bearing down on the Chargers with each drive. Tackles for loss came in bunches any time the Chargers tried to run the ball or complete short throws at the line of scrimmage.
After one quarter of play, Central had scored four times through the air and once on defense to lead 35-8.
The second quarter brought more of the same, but this time with the running game getting more involved. Senior running back Cooper Reves added three second quarter touchdowns and had several highlight runs where multiple tackles were broken.
Several times, Reves showed there is no right-way to tackle him. His upper body strength allows him to shed arm tackles and his sense of balance makes it hard for ankle tackles to trip him up. In the second quarter, he accounted for every yard on a 70-yard scoring drive which ended in another score for him and the Mustangs.
Before the second quarter ended, the Mustangs drew up another play to put the finishing touches on a near-perfect first half. On 4th and goal from the 11, junior quarterback Griffin Hall found Bodie Rodriguez for a touchdown with exactly one second remaining in the half to make it 62-14. Hall threw five touchdowns on the night before him and the starters sat in the second half.
With the win, Salina Central improved to 8-1, matching their most wins since 2022 and their first playoff win since the same year. Topeka West ended its season 1-8 for the fourth consecutive year.
Next week, the Mustangs will host Goddard at Salina Stadium in a rematch of their Week 8 meeting in Wichita, when Salina Central won 35-28 to clinch the No. 2 seed.
