CACHE — All Sayge Huyssoon had was a protractor, a map key and his selfless spirit to guide him through the vast woods of Southwest Georgia.
Thrown out into the dense forest during a land navigation class at Fort Benning one night during United States Army Basic Training this past summer, Cache football’s star 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound defensive end knew his unit desperately needed a morale boost.
There were no trails on this assessment course which required soldiers to obtain a certain amount of points throughout the forest in a tight time frame. Otherwise, you would fail.
Huyssoon and his fellow comrades were chafing during the endless hours of countless miles and seemingly endless wandering. The elements were starting to weigh heavily on the distraught troops.
“At some point it just clicked that I can either be down in the dumps or I can get it done and over with,” Huyssoon said. “At that point, I channeled so much strength and energy to continue on and lift the rest of my guys up. It was really rewarding.”
Even more rewarding is the family journey Huyssoon is embarking on.
Huyssoon’s father, Paul, is a retired United States Marine, who Sayge said has always been super organized and disciplined in the way he lives life.
“My dad was really excited because he didn’t know I was going to enlist,” Huyssoon said.
Huyssoon, a senior, had different plans after graduating from Cache High School this coming spring, but a U.S. Army recruiter came to school and talked to the towering lineman.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“I was sold,” Huyssoon said. “For me, it was about purpose. Purpose in life. Purpose to not just serve yourself. Plus, in the military I have a career laid out for me where I can learn a new trade and take it back to the civilian world.”
After Huyssoon graduates in the spring, he’ll head back to Fort Benning where he’ll complete infantry AIT — the remaining portion of basic training where recruits train in the specifics of their chosen fields. He plans on coming back to Oklahoma and starting his secondary education while switching to active duty in the National Guard before eventually getting deployed.
After a while, Huyssoon plans on attending Airborne Ranger School where he is aiming to join special forces as a combat medic to help save lives. When he returns to the civilian world one day, he hopes to be a doctor.
Huyssoon’s selfless nature which led him to join the U.S. Army has rubbed off on the football field where he’s been a sack machine at the right defensive end spot and a bulldozer as an offensive tackle for the Bulldogs’ punishing rushing attack.
“I realize I’m serving my guys and helping my team get a W,” Huyssoon said.
Cache head coach Faron Griffin admitted in a lot of programs, Huyssoon would be playing tight end or other skill positions, but due to the Bulldogs’ lack of depth on the offensive line, the senior is working in the trenches.
“We asked him to play down there and he never complained. Sayge does his job with great pride. Since I’ve been here, it’s been his nature to work hard and go all out for the team,” coach Griffin said. “He doesn’t care about glory — never has. I think that selflessness is what’s going to make him a great soldier and a great leader in life.”
Huyssoon has a special bond with his defensive end counterpart, Michael Bloodsworth, who has also been on a sack and tackle for loss tear during No. 10 Cache’s 7-1 start.
“When Michael gets a sack, I love it. Getting sacks is amazing with the rest of your defensive line,” Huyssoon said. “I wanna go when they are around. They motivate me and build my confidence.”
The Bulldogs’ confidence on the defensive end is budding right now as Cache has forced 11 turnovers the past three games. That stems from the brotherhood in the trenches.
“It’s all because of the comradery,” Huyssoon said. “The whole D-line we’re all brothers. We have a lot of seniors on defense and we’re all really close.”
Huyssoon is also close to his younger sister, Madison, who is one of the key players on the Cache volleyball team. The two frequently trash talk with each other and race in the back yard to settle the score.
Rewarding journey
It shouldn’t come as a shock that Sayge was the soldier to lift everyone’s spirits that tiresome night in Georgia this past summer.
One of Huyssoon’s teammates, senior cornerback Zavon Griffin, sees that every day in Cache.
“Sayge never gives up and always gives great effort. He’s encouraging others when they’re down,” said Griffin who leads the team with five interceptions. “It doesn’t matter when or where — every play, every day, in the weight room, in school. He’s a great person outside of football, too.”
Before returning to Oklahoma, Huyssoon went to the National Infantry Museum in nearby Columbus, Ga. Huyssoon began reading about all the journeys the infantry men have been on and the missions they completed.
“You see their combat experience and it’s really amazing. It’s overwhelming,” Huyssoon said. “After I had been through all of the basic training, it really gave purpose to everything I had done and it felt so rewarding.”
As rewarding as his time at Fort Benning was, Huyssoon says the playoff journey Cache — which is in search of the program’s first playoff victory since 1983 — is about to embark on could be even more gratifying.
“We got a poem that coach Griffin put up on the board about the man in the glass,” Huyssoon explained. “When you try your hardest at something and put in all the work, you can look at yourself through the glass mirror and say you’re proud of yourself. You went in 100 percent and put all you could into achieving your goal.
“That makes it really rewarding.”