By TYLER HENRY

Salina Post

SALINA — It had been over 20 years since Salina South and Salina Central had met in the 5A football playoffs, but everyone in attendance will tell you it was well worth the wait.

This back-and-forth affair featured a little bit of everything. When all was said and done it was the Mustangs who survived and advanced by virtue of a 49-24 victory over Salina South.

Central set the tone on the opening drive of the game when Griffin Hall took a designed quarterback run up the middle for what would go down as the first of seven Mustang rushing scores on the night.

South wasted no time responding with a scoring drive of their own, and evened the score on a direct snap to Armane Redmond to level the ledger 7-7.

Every good story needs a hero, and on Friday night, all Cooper Reves was missing was the cape.

Reves put the Mustangs back in front with an 11-yard rushing touchdown to close out the first quarter. 

South responded with a 33-yard field goal, a quick stop, and a long touchdown drive that ended when Izzy Telles found Jaxton Kitchener over the middle for a touchdown that put the Cougars ahead 17-14 at halftime.

Out of the locker room, the Central defense forced a stop, and Reves cashed in from 18 yards away to restore the Mustang lead.

Telles’ second passing touchdown of the day, this time on a deep fade to Jaxon Myers, undid that work to make it 24-21 Cougars, but that would be the last lead Salina South would enjoy for the rest of the night.

Reves was clinical, turning 33 carries into 280 yards and five rushing touchdowns. By the time Griffin Hall drove the final nail into the Cougar coffin, the damage was already done as Central scored the final 28 points en route to a 49-24 win.

For his part, Hall completed three of his six passes for 20 yards, adding 104 yards and two scores on the ground.

Izzy Telles and Armane Redmond showed out for South despite the loss, with Telles completing 10-19 for 173 yards, 2 touchdowns and no turnovers, and Redmond finishing with 104 yards on 24 carries.

Salina South’s campaign comes to a close at 3-8, but the Cougars can hold their heads high, and should be able to build on this success going into the 2026 season.

Salina Central (10-1) travels to Great Bend (11-0) next week the 5A semifinals.