At some point, winning games is more important than how you win them. That’s the story for Sachse (Garland) in 2016, they won every single game until they were beaten in the second round of the playoffs by The Woodlands by a score of 51-40.
Sachse didn’t exactly blow away the competition early in the year. Byron Nelson took them to overtime, and Mesquite and Plano West also played them fairly close. Later on in the regular season, during district play, they started going off on other teams like a team of their talent should, only 14 points were scored on the Mustangs in the last 4 games of their district slate while they put up a total of 151.
Even though the Mustangs were and are stocked with talent, they had some youth at key positions, which will be a great benefit for their 2017 campaign. They’ll lose some pieces, including offensive coordinator Jay Northcutt (who took the head coaching job at Wolfforth Frenship), but what they return will make them one of the most dangerous teams in the DFW area.
Key Losses
MLB Riko Jeffers, FS Nicholas Alexander, DE Quentin Brown, RB/WR Kelon Wilson, WR Nate Shelton
Possibly the biggest loss for the Mustangs will be Riko Jeffers, a monstrous hitter with a true nose for the ball. Also gone will be Nicholas Alexander, who anchored the Mustangs over the top. Quentin Brown was an all-district performer out of his defensive end position.
On offense, big play receiver Nate Shelton has played his last snap for Sachse. Jack of all trades Kelon Wilson graduates also, his utility was a huge boost for the Mustang offense.
Key Returners
QB Jalen Mayden, WR Drue Jackson, RB Christian Cole, FS Isaiah Humphries, DE Hunter Spears, MLB Cedric Johnson
Sachse will be excellent when the 2017 season rolls around. Look at everyone they have returning.
- Leading passer
- Top 2 rushers
- 2nd leading receiver
- Experience – if not outright starters – at every defensive position
Sachse has more than a collection of recruits, they return a massive chunk of their production on offense and key members on the defense.
The Verdict
Let’s be very frank here: Sachse returns a lot of players from an 11-1 season, a season where they lost to an eventual state finalist. Yes, they struggled to put teams away at times in 2016. However, the sheer amount of talent and experience that they return cannot be ignored.
I have no qualms about predicting that Sachse makes a deep playoff run barring injuries or sheer bad luck. This team is stacked deep, much deeper than a lot of teams that they play will be. When it comes time to pick who wins in the playoffs, there might be a lot of people taking Sachse to make it out of a cutthroat DFW playoff slate.
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