The Trojans host Triad on Friday, Oct. 30, on Senior Night. Southeastern is 7-2 after a 42-40 win against Northeastern last week and is a contender for a Division VI, Region 24 playoff spot.
The Week 9 Harbin Ratings won’t be released until later today.
Southeastern is chasing history. A win Friday will give it eight in the regular season, its most since 2002 (8-3). That was also the last time the Trojans advanced to the playoffs.
“(The players) know what’s at stake, but we don’t really talk about it,” Southeastern head coach Greg Bonifay said. “We’re worried about Triad right now, and everything else takes care of itself. We don’t want to look too far ahead. We have to focus on the task at hand.”
That focus has been strong since a two-week dip a month ago. The Trojans have won their last three and are third in the Ohio Heritage Conference (4-2).
“They’re excited just to play football, period,” Bonifay said. “They’ve really had a different mind-set now amongst the players. They’re starting to expect to win instead of trying to find ways to win.”
Back-to-back losses to West Liberty-Salem and Mechanicsburg showed a chink in the Trojans’ armor. Then a win against Catholic Central started the winning streak.
“We started to turn the corner in that game,” Bonifay said. “You could see it in their eyes at the beginning of the game that they weren’t going to accept losing anymore.”
The Trojans have a few amazing stats from the season:
• They’ve outscored opponents 72-21 in the fourth quarter.
• Reed Florence has 2,001 passing yards, tops in the area. Austin Mercer leads the area with 762 receiving yards.
• Preston Snodgrass has six interceptions, also tops in the area.
C
ontact this reporter at (937) 328-0366 or bplasters@coxohio.com.
About the Author