Southeast of Saline football holds off Clay Center, 26-14, to remain undefeated

GYPSUM — After mowing down their three previous opponents in short order, the Southeast of Saline Trojans were ready for another test.

They got one from a determined Clay Center team.

But after falling behind briefly in the third quarter, Southeast again flexed its muscles on Friday night in their return to Steve Fritz Field, using a pair of long scoring drives to knock off the Tigers, 26-14.

It was the first home game in nearly a month for the Trojans, who improved to 5-0. Clay Center (3-2) saw its three-game winning streak come to a halt.

"It's always great to play here," said Southeast coach Mitch Gebhardt, whose Trojans had not played at home since a season-opening 38-26 victory over Rock Creek on Sept. 2. "Southeast of Saline always brings a good crowd, and after three weeks on the road, it was nice to get back on our own field."

Here are some takeaways from Southeast's victory:

Trojans impressive on final drives

Southeast dominated statistically against Clay Center, racking up 403 yards total offense to just 133 for the Tigers, but it took a pair of impressive second-half scoring drives to finally put the game away.

"It was good to get the offense started," said senior quarterback Luke Gebhardt, who completed 21 of 27 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns, plus ran 24 times for 97. "But we need to clean up some things.

"Like I don't need to be throwing interceptions in the end zone. But my teammates picked me up, and we got the win, and that's all that matters."

Southeast turned the ball over three times, two on interceptions by Jackson Henry. Henry's pick on the first play of the second quarter stalled a Trojan drive on third-and-goal from the Clay Center 3-yard line.

After Clay Center went up 14-12 on quarterback Mark Hoffman's 9-yard touchdown run and Jackson Henry's point after kick with 8:30 left in the third quarter, the Trojans immediately went to work.

Starting at its own 35, Southeast marched 65 yards in 10 plays, capped by a 3-yard Gebhardt touchdown run, to go in front for good. Gebhardt's two-point conversion pass to Landen Allen made it 20-14 with 5:22 left in the period.

Luke Gebhardt accounted for 61 of the 65 yards on the drive, rushing for 47 and completing 2 of 3 passes for another 14.

But the Trojans saved their best for last.

Still clinging to a six-point lead with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter, they proceeded to take more than six minutes off the clock with a 13-play, 65-yard drive. Luke Gebhardt scored from 2 yards out to make it a two-possession game with 4:27 to go.

"I thought that last drive was very good for us," Mitch Gebhardt said. "We took a lot of time off the clock."

In addition to Luke Gebhardt, Southeast got 81 yards rushing on 13 carries from Nathan Friesen. Four different Trojan receivers had multiple catches, led by Michael Murray with eight for 65 yards, while Allen had seven for 62 yards and Jake Gebhardt four for 35.

Jake Gebhardt scored Southeast's first touchdown on an 18-yard pass from his twin brother, while Allen had the second on a 19-yard Luke Gebhardt strike.

Defense picks up the slack

Clay Center took advantage of a short field following a pair of Southeast punts to score its two touchdowns. Both came on quarterback keepers by Hoffman.

But that was about it for the Tigers, as Southeast's defense stiffened.

Once they got the lead, the Trojans came hard after Hoffman, who was sacked three times in the second half. Clay Center especially had a difficult time with nose guard Josiah Monday.

"The only time they could stop me was when they double-teamed," said Monday, who provided the push up the middle along with Trever Keller and Slade Johnson. "They had a couple of drives where we couldn't stop them in the passing game because they run the ball so much and it took some time to adjust.

"I'm just glad the defense stepped up."

Clay Center finished with 69 yards rushing on 25 attempts, led by Brody Hayes' five carries for 35 yards, while Hoffman was 5 of 12 passing for 64.

"Our defense did a good job of slowing down their running attack," Mitch Gebhardt said. "We knew they could pass the ball and they did a good job of that at the end of the first half."

Hoffman completed three straight passes for 42 yards to set up the Tigers' first touchdown with 29 seconds left in the half, which cut the Southeast lead to 12-7.

A timely test for the Trojans

The Clay Center game came at a good time for Southeast, which has been ranked No. 1 in Class 2A all season and hadn't been pushed since the season opener against Rock Creek.

In their three road games, the Trojans outscored Beloit, Minneapolis and Halstead by a combined 93-23.

"I think we definitely needed a bit of a test," Monday said.

Mitch Gebhardt agreed.

"Clay Center's a good football team," he said. "We knew that all week from watching the film.

"A game like this will make a team better. I'm proud of the way our kids responded when we got behind."

The Trojans will be back at home next Friday when they entertain 1-4 Hillsboro.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Southeast of Saline high school football vs. Clay Center