The Memorial Mustangs returned to the postseason after three years with a band of senior brothers leading the way.

"We all grew up watching Memorial football all the way back to when they reached the state semis," senior linebacker Nick Haas said. "Just putting the Memorial jersey on was a great experience. We hadn't been to the playoffs in our high school career and we wanted to prove ourselves as seniors. Going to the second round of the playoffs was pretty special."

The 'Stangs finished fourth in a tough District 17-6A, then beat the Heights in the first round before falling to Katy Taylor in the area rounds.

It was a tale of two seasons.

"Towards the end of last season, we were really beginning to gel," coach Gary Koch said. "We had a great offseason as well. We had a rough start to the year (going 0-3), before winning four-in-a-row. Our offensive line was a real catalyst for us and the return of Nick Haas from injury made our defense really tough to score on."

The core of quarterback Matthew Sanders, running back Carson Zahn, receiver Ben Dukes, tight end Harris Weber and offensive lineman Tucker Chenoweth led the offense. All were first-team, all-district selections.

Haas was the team's only unanimous all-district selection. Rocco Silvestri led the line, while Sean Sheets and Matthew McHenry anchored the secondary. They were also first-teamers.