SINTON, Texas — Sinton football has been dominant for a long time, making playoff appearances in 17 of their last 18 seasons...
but their 45-42 victory over Cuero ended a State Semifinal drought. The Pirates are back in the fifth round for the first time since 2014.
Sinton will battle West Orange-Stark. Ironically the same team the Pirates lost to 11 years ago in the State Semifinal 42-21, but that was a long time ago. New team, new standard.
"The best I can do every day to try and give this team the best chance we got," said Sinton senior center Zack Busack. "I know the rest of our team is doing the same team. All the underclassmen and the seniors are trying their hardest to make it as far as we can."
Both offenses love running the ball. West Orange-Stark 5-foot-3 junior Khelvy Jefferson has 2,200 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns. The Pirates counter with Mykha Green. The 6-foot senior totals 3,332 yards and 48 touchdowns. Marcos Zapata and Quincy Bess are also strong rushers, which says a lot about the offensive line.
"All of our offensive line can move. We've got those big bodies that can all move and hit people," Busack said. "We can go wherever we need to go. We do steps everyday to help get our footwork better, and that's our main part of our line just footwork."
While the challenge for both defenses is stopping the run game, it's also what they've prepared for all season.
"It's about getting to the ball and when you get there you get there angry," said Sinton football head coach Michael Troutman. "Relying on one another, taking pride in swarming and taking pride in doing your job."
The Pirates are one win away from advancing to their second ever State Championship game. The Pirates finished State Runner-Up in 3A-DI back in 2001.
"We've got to be the more physical team," Troutman said. "You got to be the toughest team, and we're not going to just sit back and be satisfied that we got to the fifth round. The expectations are higher, and the standard is the standard. The standard is make it Dallas."
9-ranked Sinton and West Orange-Stark will face off on Friday at 7 p.m. at Rhodes Stadium in Katy.
