Gordy, Crawford named Athletes of the Week

Fall sports officially came to a close last week as the Graham Steers football team fell in their area round playoff game against the West Plains Wolves.

The Steers put up a fight but took a hard loss to end their season. With that, however, the focus for a lot of athletes turns to winter sports. Basketball seasons have begun and soccer seasons are on the horizon.

Emilee Gordy, of the Lady Blues basketball team, and Kaleb Crawford, of the Steers football team, have been selected as The Graham Leader’s Athletes of the Week. Each athlete made significant contributions to their respective team despite both taking losses in their games.

Emilee Gordy, center, Lady Blues basketball

The season is still young for the Lady Blues basketball team but the athletes already have a handful of games under their belts with a long way to go.

During the first two weeks of the season, and particularly in Graham’s match-up with Nocona, Gordy has made plays on both sides of the court at a high level.

In Graham’s 51-33 loss to the Lady Indians, Gordy tied for the team lead with seven points while pulling down nine rebounds and adding in an assist.

Of Gordy’s nine rebounds, four of them came on offense and provided an opportunity for second-chance points for her team.

As one of the tallest girls on the team and slotted in at the center position, Gordy does a lot of the dirty work inside the key both on offense and defense. The junior acts as an intimidating presence against opponents trying to score easy points at the basket.

In the game against Nocona, Gordy recorded three blocked shots, the only ones the Lady Blues recorded. As the season progresses, she’ll continue to have opportunities to make game-changing plays for her team with her abilities.

Kaleb Crawford, defensive lineman, Steers football

The Graham Steers’ defense was a power source all season long. Throughout 12 games — 10 regular season and two playoff games — the defense averaged 15.3 points per game allowed while the offense averaged 44.7 points per game.

As a senior defensive lineman, Crawford played a major role in the success of the Steers’ hard-nosed defense. One of Crawford’s primary responsibilities all season was to stuff up the opposing run game and make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.

Crawford finished the season with 33 tackles which included 22 solo ones. He also recorded four tackles for loss with two of those coming as quarterback sacks.

This season marked Crawford’s third year on the varsity squad and he was looked at as a leader both on the defense and the team as a whole. His leadership helped the team in difficult moments and he was an example to fellow defensive players around him.

While the season didn’t end the way Crawford or any of the Steers’ players, coaches or fans would have liked, he made an impact and helped prepare Graham’s football team for future success.