Steers BBQ team qualifies for state championship in first event

The Smokin’ Steers and the Graham PitSteers kicked off the high school barbecue season Sept. 29-30 in Amarillo. The pressure’s already eased up for the rest of the season as both teams from Graham High School qualified for the state championship in May 2024.

The Graham PitSteers finished fifth overall in the competition while the Smokin’ Steers ended up just a few spots behind in seventh.

Throughout the season there are 12 regional events for teams to try to qualify for the state championship. The top 10 teams from each regional earn a spot in the state championship that will be held at the end of the school year.

The head coach for the barbecue teams, Brendan Locker, shared that this trip to the state championship in May 2024 will be the seventh consecutive year Graham’s barbecue teams will compete for a state title.

“I wanted to get our kids, especially the young ones, (an) experience on what a competition actually is and what competition barbecue actually is; they performed well,” Locker said.

Teams for high school barbecue aren’t allowed to have more than five students on them. Due to the fact that more students wanted to join the team this season, Locker created another team so everyone could compete.

The team members will each get experience throughout the year cooking and submitting the different foods that make up the scoring in the field of competition.

Each team submits three meats for judging: a whole chicken, seven fully cut pork ribs and seven full slices of brisket in the correct size. Teams also turn in an order of pinto beans and a dessert made entirely from scratch.

For the Smokin’ Steers, Gabe Shook led the way for the team by taking first place in the brisket category. Jesus Lucio came in third in the ribs portion and Case Etling took 12th in chicken. Lucio Arvizu finished 10th place in the beans section while Bryan Sanchez finished 15th in dessert.

The Graham PitSteers have four members so Matthew Monrreal completed two of the five categories for the team. Monrreal came in 13th in brisket and earned the first place overall prize for his beans. Joey Livingston finished in fourth place for his chicken, Grady Depriest took sixth place for his ribs and Jacob Collins got 11th place with his dessert.

With the trip to the state championship locked up for both teams, they’ll continue to gain experience throughout the year at the various events they attend across the state. The next one for the two teams will be held in Graham on the downtown square Nov. 17-18.

As the teams continue to move throughout the year, they fill their time and raise money for competitions through catering events. But they’re always looking for sponsorships, as well.

“Sponsorships are available, we raise all our own money. So we cater because we got gas, lodging, snacks, everything, ingredients that we need. But yeah, we need people to help donate, support these kids,” Locker said.

The Smokin’ Steers and PitSteers have a long year ahead of them but they’re already ahead of the game with a trip to the state championship to look forward to. They’ll look to continue to improve at each event so they can make a splash in front of the entire state next May.