GRANTS - Without sacrifice there can be no victory. Without hard work there can be little success. These were the words of the coach and the Lady Buccaneers listened.

Girls go 15-1 The eighth grade Lady Buccaneers are, in no particular order, Veronica Lopez, Chelsea Yazzie, Teige Zeller, Savanah Wilson, Deanna Emerson , Brianna Fank, Brenda Archunde, Roxanne Autrey, Courtney Spencer, Audrey Delgarito, Alicia Pacheco, Syndey Mares , Marcella Sanchez and Myranda Rodriguez. They are coached by Walter Sarracino and assistant David Sanchez. BEACON / COURTESY

The season's opening game was at Socorro in mid-November, a two-hour bus ride from the Los Alamitos Middle School.

The talented individuals making up the eighth grade squad had been chosen from various parts of the county. The Bucs found themselves in a struggle against a superior team, suffering from a 31-29 loss.

Coach Walter Sarracino had a heart-to-heart talk with the defeated girls the next day in the locker. As his words of encouragement flowed team members began to acknowledge the need for each other.

“It was a good loss, we learned that we couldn't win as individuals,” recalled Coach Sarracino. “They learned the team concept.”

The Lady Bucs then spent plenty of time in the gym working on drills and building fundamentals.

Moriarty was the next destination after two weeks of grueling practice. The Lady Bucs had a different outlook and the Moriarty Colts were the first to find out.

When the dust settled the Lady Bucs emerged from the 38-11 victory.

“They never looked back,” Sarracino said.

Rio Rancho's mid-school district is known for dedicated athletes who make up a tough division of teams. Sarracino said he believes his team must play in the challenging district, even though some years the Bucs struggle to pull out a .500 season.

The Lady Bucs were able to avenge their earlier loss, crushing Socorro by 40-28.

The rest of the year followed suit and the LAMS team piled up an impressive 15 wins following their one loss. Most of the wins ranged from 15 to 30 point wins.

“Very rarely that we didn't play the whole team,” explained the coach on the team's intentions on staying sportsmanlike. “We were fortunate to still win by quite a bit.”

Bernalillo Middle School was gracious enough to hold an end of the season tournament.

After crushing Rio Rancho and Los Lunas by 36-17 and 34-17 respectively, the stage was set for the Bucs to play Bernalillo in the championship.

The game proved closer then usual but the 40-34 Bucs win was a fitting end to the fascinating season.

The team's love and dedication for the game was inspired by the coach to work even harder throughout the season. But sarracino insisted that the credit also belongs to the parents who sacrificed time to bring the youngsters to practice, coaches who worked through the summers, weekends and days off.

While some girls on the team got mentioned throughout the season with good games and kudos, the coach commended the entire team on their hard work.

“All twelve girls did an outstanding job,” closed Coach Sarracino.