Pictures courtesy of Brent Maycock/KSHSAA
HUTCHINSON — Southeast of Saline’s football team had hoped to make school history Saturday, and in a way it did.
A 35-6 loss to Nemaha Central denied the Trojans a second straight Class 2A state title Saturday at windy and chilly Gowans Stadium, but they still finished with the program’s most successful two-year run ever.
“(Back-to-back championships) was what we were going for because nobody in Southeast history has done that,” said junior quarterback Tiernan Ptacek. “So, we really wanted to get there, we just fell a little short.”
The loss was the first in two seasons for Southeast, which came from behind to Nemaha Central in last year’s final. The Trojans finished the year at 12-1.
Things got off to an ominous start for the Trojans in the rematch when Nemaha’s Caleb Strathman returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and following a three-and-out for the offense brought a punt back 76 yards to make it 14-0 with less than two minutes gone.
Southeast got on the board with a 5-yard Ptacek-to-Malachi Hopkins touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter, but Nemaha Central converted a Trojan turnover into a touchdown before halftime to go up 21-6. The Thunder then put the hammer down in the second half.
“Nemaha Central is an awfully good football team, and to spot them 14 points before their offense gets on the field makes it tough,” Southeast coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “I felt good after we got that touchdown that we could do some things, and it just wasn’t meant to be in the end.”
Southeast’s lone scoring drive covered 60 yards in eight plays and featured a 27-yard run by Grady Gebhardt. He also had a 33-yarder into Nemaha Central territory late in the second quarter before the Thunder forced a key fumble.
“We tried to keep our heads up. We just had to make it like it was a 0-0 game, and we just had to keep battling,” Grady Gebhardt said of the early deficit. “We scored a touchdown there and made it 14-6, but we just couldn’t get it rolling after that.”
“They had a great game plan for it.”
Exacerbating the situation was a stiff northerly wind that limited each team in the passing game for two quarters. Still, Ptacek completed 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards.
“We try not to make excuses, but it made it a little hard for us,” Grady Gebhardt said. “But (Nemaha Central) game-planned really well.”
What proved more costly for Southeast of Saline was three turnovers that all led to Nemaha Central touchdowns. The first came on a 68-yard run by quarterback Carter Hajek with 54 seconds left in the half, just one play after the Thunder recovered a fumble at their own 32-yard line.
The Trojans then fumbled on their first possession of the second half and muffed an ensuing onside kick, resulting in a two more scoring drives.
“It was tough to come back with those turnovers,” Grady Gebhardt said. “We had a good drive going and just lost the ball. That’s the game of football, though, and you can’t do much about that.”
In last year’s championship game, turnovers cost the Trojans a 13-point halftime lead, but they were able to overcome it. This time they could not.
“We talked about turnovers, and in a game like this … any game, turnovers are big, but as the season progresses, they become even bigger,” Mitch Gebhardt said.
For Grady Gebhardt, his 116 rushing yards on 25 carries put him over 2,000 yards for the season, thought that was small consolation in the end.
“That win for the team would have meant a lot more than those 2,000 yards for me,” he said.
It was the final high school game for 15 seniors on the Southeast roster.
“I’m awfully proud of the guys who are here,” Mitch Gebhardt said. “We’ve done a good job with the football program.”
