Sachse senior Dirk Williams Jr. (3) leads the Mustangs onto the field. The Mustangs finished the regular season with a 6-4 record. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
When Sachse made a change at quarterback after its third game of the season, it could have been easy for senior Dirk Williams Jr. to pout.
Williams Jr. had quarterbacked the Mustangs to a second straight undefeated District 9-6A title and, this year, led the squad to a 2-1 record.
Three days after Sachse defeated Garland 23-19 to lift the Mustangs to their 18th consecutive district victory, the coaching staff sat down with Williams Jr. Quarterbacks coach Torrance Williams had a one-on-one talk with him. Williams — no relation to Williams Jr. — told him he was being moved to slot receiver and running back, with junior Christian McCaffrey taking over at quarterback.
Williams said that inserting McCaffrey at quarterback would allow the Mustangs to have better success in downfield passing. But Williams Jr. still had a big role on the team. Moving him to wide receiver and running back gave Sachse another athlete who could use his speed to outrun opposing defenses.
Williams Jr. had just one request.
“I just needed one thing — gloves,” he said.
Upon receiving a pair of gloves, Williams Jr. walked out to the team’s practice field and warmed up with the other wide receivers.
It didn’t take long for his teammates to notice that not only was he playing a new position, but he also had a chance to do very well.
“We were doing some catching drills and I made a couple of one-handed catches in practice,” he said. “I just tried to showcase my athletic ability. I got a couple of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the offensive and defensive players and coaches.”
The position change paid off immediately.
In his first game in his new role, Williams Jr. caught seven passes for 78 yards in a 34-27 loss to Wylie. The Mustangs’ passing attack, as a whole, shined. McCaffrey tallied 221 yards and one touchdown in his first start.
It was just the start of big things to come for a Sachse offense that took off with McCaffrey under center. He has thrown for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns with an average completion of 16.3 yards. Williams Jr. has totaled 134 receiving yards and 488 rushing yards with eight total touchdowns.
Williams Jr.’s presence has allowed Sachse’s athleticism to come full circle while helping to create chances for senior wide receiver Marcus Rhoden (483 yards receiving, 5 TDs) and senior running back Roderick Rainwater (552 yards rushing, 7 TDs).
“Christian is a great player, sees the field really well,” Williams Jr. said. “It was never an ego blow for me. In pee wee and middle school ball, I was the most athletic person on the field. I’m not just a quarterback. My dad says that I’m a football player. I can play any position and be good at it.”
Williams Jr. has previously played wide receiver for the Mustangs in certain situations and at 7-on-7 tournaments with his club team, but he credited Sachse wide receivers coach JT Clark for helping him adjust to his new role.
“He’s come in and really helped out all the wide receivers,” Williams Jr. said. “We have fun with him, and he jumps around with us. He is great at teaching technique and catching the ball.”
Sachse’s rise on offense has helped the Mustangs to three wins in their last four games to earn a playoff spot — a spot that comes after Williams Jr. said there were doubters outside the program who felt Sachse couldn’t make the playoffs, especially after losing 37 seniors from last season’s team to graduation.
“There was a lot of doubt, especially from the other teams in district,” he said. “For us to overcome everything that we’ve gone through and have a lot of players that were playing JV last year and not have a lot of experience has been great.
“And we have great coaches at Sachse. To have them help us get to par and the point needed to make playoffs is a blessing. I thank God every day that we made it to playoffs and hope to continue on.”
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