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2011-2012 YEAR IN REVIEW: Football, girls basketball, girls soccer teams highlight Sachse athletic year
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
The Sachse athletic program has enjoyed some big moments in several different sports since moving into the varsity ranks in 2004.
But the Mustangs are still the youngest program in Garland ISD and one of the fresher faces in the area, so it is easy to forget that they are still building.
Sachse yet again took several steps forward during the past season, most notably with the football team making the playoffs for the first time in school history and the girls basketball and girls soccer teams each making it to the regional tournament.
This year, they were not going to be denied.
Behind an offense that rewrote the record books behind quarterback Trent White, running back Billy Cole and wide receivers Chris Robb, Jeff Guckenberg and Tyrique Edwards, the Mustangs posted a 7-3 record during the regular season, picking up a key victory over South Garland to punch their postseason ticket.
Sachse was not content to just make the playoffs, as they defeated Jesuit, 49-42, in the bi-district round to not only set a school record for victories in a season with eight, but also notch the first postseason win.
The road came to an end in the area finals with a 59-35 loss to Longview, but it set the standard for future teams to aspire to.
"These guys have wanted this for a long time and I'm so proud of them," Sachse head coach Mark "Red" Behrens said. "They've seen a lot of our teams around here be successful and they wanted to be a part of it. Hopefully, we'll have a lot more teams in the future that can call themselves playoff teams, but they will always be the first."
The football team was not the only one making waves in the postseason during the fall, as the volleyball team once again returned to the playoffs.
The Mustangs finished third in 10-5A but saved some of their best volleyball for the playoffs. Led by blocker of the year Adrien Richburg and setter of the year Emily Hundt, Sachse swept Berkner and took down A&M Consolidated in four games in the area finals before running into district rival McKinney Boyd in the regional quarterfinals.
The Mustangs did not make a lot of noise at the 10-5A cross country meet, but Kenyata Butler did have a strong performance to place eighth in the girls race.
The Sachse girls basketball team had been in the playoffs before but had not been able to do much, but this season had a different feel.
The Mustangs had senior leadership in Acheil Tac and Candice Followwell and used a stingy team defense to post a 13-1 record in 10-5A play and claim the district championship.
Sachse followed the same formula for success into the playoffs, posting victories over Sunset (49-42), Temple (47-38) and Killeen Harker Heights (53-46) to advance to the regional tournament for the first time in school history.
The Mustangs posted a 33-27 win over The Woodlands in the semifinals to move to within one step of the state tournament but fell just short with a 47-42 loss to Spring Dekaney in the finals.
"I can't say enough about these girls and the way they played," Sachse head coach Donna McCullough said. "I always believed we had the ability to make it to this level, but this really proves to them and all the younger girls that they are capable."
The girls soccer team were paying close attention to what their fellow athletes were doing and they were able to match the run to the regional championship game.
Sachse posted a 10-4 record in district play to finish third, but they saved their best for last.
The Mustangs posted a 2-0 win over Skyline and a 3-2 shootout victory against Belton. They then avenged two earlier defeats with a 2-0 blanking of rival Rowlett to advance to the regional tournament.
Like the basketball team, Sachse won its semifinal match, posting a 2-1 in over Georgetown, but fell one step short of the state tournament after a 1-0 loss to Klein Oak.
The Mustangs softball team put together another solid season. Behind seniors Demi Thompson, the 10-5A defensive player of the year, and Brooke Jones, Sachse finished fourth in district play. But unlike last year when they were able to upset the top seed in the playoffs, the Mustangs fell in the opening round with a tough 5-4 loss to Lake Highlands.
The baseball team had several highlights, including regular season sweep of Rowlett, but had to settle for second place in 10-5A.
After outlasting W.T. White in three games in the opening round, Sachse had its best-of-3 series against Bryan pared down to a game because of weather and they were eliminated in a 4-1 loss.
The good news for the Mustangs is they return several players from this year's team, including pitchers Kyle Weatherly and Caleb Greaux and outfielders Eric Williams and Jeremy Hadley.
"We should be in pretty good shape," Sachse head coach Chris Burrow said. "Hopefully this will be an experience that makes these guys better for next year and we will be able to take the next step."
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