Sports
Bulldogs look to make a habit of postseason play
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Until the Millsap Bulldogs gather at mid-field for the coin flip for the open of their 2010 season, they will savor the attainment of their 2009 goal, which was to make the playoffs. Millsap entered district play with a spotless record and went on to earn a tie for the runner-up spot in District 9-2A. The Bulldogs' are shown here before a contest against Jacksboro. HEIDI STOUT/DEMOCRAT PHOTO
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MILLSAP — The keyword for Millsap’s 2009 football season: progress.
For the last three years, the Bulldogs had been in a rebuilding phase, but that all came to a point this season, as Millsap made the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
“We set our goals to make the playoffs at the beginning of the year and we made it so we hope to not be a stranger to the playoffs,” Millsap head coach Kyle Coker said. “Our goal is to be there every year. We hope this was the start and beginning of a tradition.
“There is where we wanted to be and it took us three years to get here but it’s been progress each year. We’ve come a long way to get to where we’re at, and we’re not satisfied and we want to keep getting better.”
The Bulldogs’ season came to a wrap Nov. 13 in a bi-district loss to Aubrey in Springtown.
“We would definitely have liked to go further in the playoffs, but we met up with a tough team right off the bat,” Coker said. “It ended up being 34-7 but we felt like the score didn’t really indicate the kind of game it was.
“We’d like a chance to play it over again.”
“Our seniors got a chance to experience the playoffs, and not just them but the whole team to experience the playoffs.”
All together, Millsap will be without 15 graduating seniors next year — Clay Walker, Cole Patino, Ryan Van Gundy, Derek Young, Travis McCullough, Chris Hicks, Brandon Lance, Jeremy Ruth, Lucas DePriest, Brian Davila, Justin Coburn, Tyler Massey, Kaleb Kruger, Robert Martinez and Michael Coursey.
“This was an experienced team, with half of them being seniors. We’ve got a lot of carry over with the juniors and two sophomores. The seniors provided good leadership, so we’re going to be losing some leaders as well as talented players,” Coker said.
The Millsap coach praised the attitude of the seniors, most of whom were with him during the hard times.
“We’ve been telling them that nothing comes easy, you got to work for what you get,” Coker said. “These seniors worked hard for three years to get into the playoffs. They learned what hard work does, that it’ll reap good benefits.”
Potential is abundant for next season, with Millsap returning five starters on offense and five starters on defense.
Quarterback Zeb Littlefield and running back Matt Callan are returning as the core of the Bulldog offense.
“We wanted the season to last longer and we’re going to miss these seniors but the next day after the Aubrey game, our minds started thinking about next year and how we have the potential to have a really good team,” Coker said. “It may be a different type of team. We’ll have a lot more size, a bigger, stronger team next year. We’ll have playoff experience and we know what it takes to win big games now. The kids want it bad. Even though we didn’t finish well in our last two games, we won some big contests and our kids know we can do it.”
The positive attitude on campus has transferred to the city of Millsap itself, with positivity all around.
“The whole town was excited and all of the other schools were behind us, including the elementary school who some of the football players,” Coker said. “It was an exciting year and I think that everyone will be looking forward to it next year. It did bring some life into the community.”
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