He steps onto the field,  remembering why he is here. He imagines his sister walking onto the volleyball court, nervous for the next game and excited for the ones to come after. He feels her pain when the other team wins and her season is cut short. Now, she is in the stands, cheering him on, his biggest cheerleader. This is a chance he won’t let slip by. Sophomore Will Hutchens puts on his helmet and runs out with the football team to play his best in honor of his sister.

    Will Hutchens competed with the varsity football team this Friday at the state championship game. His sister, senior Liz Hutchens, competed with the varsity volleyball team in the playoffs this year and their mother, teacher Kindi Hutchens, competed with her varsity volleyball team in 1995 when they went to state. For this family, the legacy of Lindale athletics is strong.

“I’m really proud of the way everyone played,” Will Hutchens said. “They’ve given it their all.”

During Kindi Hutchens’ senior year, the school moved down to 3A from 4A. There was another team in the district that was ranked, so the team hoped for a chance at the district championship.

“We had no idea the run we actually would make,” Kindi Hutchens said. ”For us it was kind of a surprising run and getting to the state tournament was huge for us, because Lindale had never been to the state tournament. And I really don’t think they had been past round two. Then we went all the way to the state semis.” 

Liz Hutchens, Kindi’s daughter,  competed with the volleyball this year, when they lost in the area tournament. The move down to 4A from 5A created a similar buzz around this years’ season. It was a crushing blow to have the season end so soon.

“We already knew we should be good,” Liz Hutchens said. “It was just kind of exciting to see where we’d end up and how good we could be.”

Both teams were a junior and senior dominated team, with Kindi Hutchens’ team having only one sophomore added on during playoffs. This added to a maturity and knowledge of what to expect in each match.

“We had no underclassmen,” Liz Hutchens said. “I think overall there was a lot more maturity because most of these girls had already played two to three years of high school volleyball. Rather than having somebody who either just came from an eighth grade volleyball team or just played one year of high school volleyball. That really does make a big difference.”

Will Hutchens has been playing football on the varsity team on their run to state. The team had never been past the second round of playoffs.

“It’s really cool because we’ve never been [to state] before,” Will Hutchens said. “It’s really great getting to be a part of the first team to go there.”

The coaches asked the team what made state important to each of the players. For some, they were competing because it’s their last year or for the injured captain, senior Jaret Allen. For Will, it was for his 1st team, all district sister.

“I love watching Liz play and her work hard ,” Will Hutchens said. “Everyone told them they’d go to state, and then seeing them cut short, it was tough. I told her that I’m playing for her.”