The Salina Central Mustangs dropped a tough matchup as they fell to the Arkansas City Bulldogs 31-30 on the road on Friday night. The loss comes despite the Mustangs totalling nearly 600 yards of offense on the night.

Both teams came out of the gates slowly exchanging 3-and-outs on each of their first possessions. The Mustangs came alive on their second drive however, scoring on a Cooper Reves 24-yard touchdown run.

Central would proceed to keep the offensive momentum rolling the rest of the half, but ended up leaving a lot to be desired. In five 2nd quarter possessions, Salina Central scored two touchdowns but also fumbled twice on back-to-back drives leading to just a 21-10 halftime lead.

After a lackluster first half the Bulldogs turned on their offensive firepower in the 2nd half. Ark City scored on their first four drives of the 2nd half, including three straight touchdown drives that catapulted them into the lead in the 4th quarter.

The Mustangs had chances to battle back in the 2nd half, but self-inflicted wounds cost them dearly. A turnover on downs inside the 5-yard line, a missed PAT, and a missed field goal, two of those occurring in the 4th quarter, sealed the tough defeat.

Despite the loss it was a great night offensively for Salina Central. Quarterback Jack Gordon threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, while senior running back Keaton Smith rushed 22 times for 207 yards, 145 of which came in the 2nd half.

The loss drops Salina Central to 1-1, 0-1 in AVCTL-II play. The Bulldogs move to 1-1 with the win and 1-0 in division play. The Mustangs will try to rebound as they travel to take on the Campus Colts on the road in Haysville next Friday night.

Player of the Game:

Keaton Smith

H&R Block of the Game:

Jeremiah Smith