By MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER
Hanna free safety Andres Sustaeta spent his senior patrolling the Hanna secondary and was part of a defense that helped lead the Golden Eagles to a District 32-6A championship and a historic march to the regional semifinals.
Now, the senior safety will turn the page and try his hand at the collegiate level after signing his letter of intent to play football at Bethel College, an NAIA school located in North Newton, Kansas.
For the senior safety, Bethel was a good fit, highlighting the familiarity in defensive schemes as a selling point of going to an out-of-state school.
“ Honestly, I wish I could play in Texas, but Kansas is the closest one,” Sustaeta said. “I saw their defense, I liked it and figured I’d fit right in. I’ll fit in as a corner back or a safety. Wherever they want me, I’m ready. Putting ink to paper is a dream come true, I’ll tell you that much. Kids have dreams of the NFL, mine were to go to college.”
Hanna head football coach Mark Guess said Sustaeta had a strong stint on the varsity, speaking highly of his work ethic and ability to be coached.
“ With Andres, this guy has worked really, really hard,” Guess said. “He doesn’t say a whole lot at all. He just takes coaching and works to get better from it. The last two seasons he’s had surprised him a little bit and other people, but it didn’t surprise me or (defensive coordinator J.C. Ramirez) on the defensive side of the ball. We always knew what this kid had in him.”
As a senior, Sustaeta recorded 102 total tackles (67 solo, 35 assisted), four tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, nine pass deflections, a forced fumble and a recovery.
Sustaeta also racked up the postseason in his senior campaign, earning All-District 32-6A first-team honors, All-Metro first-team honors and was an honorable mention on the Associated Press’ Class 6A All-State football team.
After the season, Sustaeta also participated in the Blue-Grey Combine and played in the All American Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 17, 2018.
Sustaeta will join a Bethel team competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and that is coming off a 3-7 season record in 2018.
With good speed, the ability to make open-field tackles and being able to stick with receivers, Sustaeta made a big impact on Bethel first-year coach Terry Harrison.
“ The coach up at Bethel is fired up about getting (Sustaeta),” Guess said. “He never saw him in person, he said ‘I have seen film on this kid and I really like what I see.’ I think it’s the effort and talent that he does have. He is fast and does great job of making open-field tackles…and not many people caught balls on him. I think carrying that to the next level and those guys looking at him the way they are, we’re hoping he’s going to get some playing time early in his college career.”
As Sustaeta prepares to create the next chapter in his playing career, he said his accomplishments at Hanna are things to be proud of.
“ They’re quite the achievements,” he said. “I’ll be able to tell my kids I was an all-American, first team all-district and all that stuff. I’m blessed and thankful for my parents for blessing me.”