In front of full stands at Sachse Mustangs stadium, the 2023 Sachse football team took the field for the first time Thursday night for their spring football game.

While the players competed to a controversial 14-14 tie on the field, the team showed the promise that has the coaching staff excited for the 2023 season. With two weeks of spring practices under their belt, the Mustangs now prepare for summer workouts, and the beginning of the new season is just around the corner.

“We’re a little beat up during the spring, but we had some guys cross over and play both sides of the ball,” head coach Mark Behrens said. “The key for us is to get healthy and have a great summer, we’re excited for what we have and what we can be and we have to be ready for fall camp.”

The Mustangs boast plenty of returning talent on both sides of the ball, starting on the defensive line and linebacker core who made several plays throughout the evening. Cheta Ofili and company got after the offense throughout the game, making several key tackles in the backfield for loss with their blitz pressure.

“We split them up among both teams and I still think both groups made a bunch of really good plays on the ball for us today,” Behrens said. “We’ve got a little depth there, something we didn’t have last year and we got to keep them on their toes and keep that intensity high through the summer.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the receivers and pass catchers made several key plays in the game that helped the Mustangs throughout. While Kaliq Lockett is the standout returning player – he caught a touchdown on the game’s final play – Sachse had several other players step up for big catches, with four different players recording touchdowns in the game.

“We haven’t had this level of receiver talent in quite some time,” Behrens said. “We got depth and talent. I believe if they work hard this summer, and give Brenden [George] more opportunities to throw the ball, the better we’re going to get.”

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