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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Parker Hale runs away from the defense for a walk in touchdown Saturday, May 31. Hale has emerged over the past several weeks as an elusive receiving threat in the passing game for Graham. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Brodie Martin jukes a Lake View defender and takes a pass to the endzone for a touchdown Saturday, May 31. The Martin Brothers were once again very effective and top targets of quarterback Jace Gill. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Jordan Alexander goes up against a Gatesville receiver for an interception Saturday, May 31. Alexander’s pick was arguably game sealing in the match as it halted a potential tying scoring drive for the Hornets. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Jace Gill throws a pass Saturday, May 31 in the second of Graham’s pool matches for seven on seven football. While Gill did throw an interception on the day, he still was very sharp finding all kinds of receivers for big plays and scores on the day. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Walker Bennett catches a ball over the middle of the field and takes it all the way for a touchdown Saturday, May 31. Bennett came into his own on this day making multiple impact plays in the passing game to help Graham secure their spot in the state tournament.
The Graham Steers had their most complete performance in 7on7 so far in Brownwood. The team qualified for the state tournament after sweeping their four games.
Right from the jump, the tone was different for the Steers this go around. Coach ZT Burkett said the mentality for this week was walking out of Gordon Wood Stadium with nothing less than a state tournament qualification.
“We told them we’re going to qualify tomorrow,” Burkett said. “This is our week, we’re going to go qualify, and they did.”
The Steers opened the day with three dominating wins against Andrews, McGregor and Lake View respectively.
They won each match 33-6, 47-16 and 35-26.
As has been the case over the first three weeks, Jace Gill was sharp once again and the Martin brothers put up very effective performances in the passing game.
However, there were steady connections being formed with other players offensively that were big impact contributions to the wins as well.
Braxton Braim, Seth Jilek and Walker Bennett all made big impact plays in the passing game. Bennett in particular had multiple touchdowns as well as end zone conversions in the dominating wins.
Kolin Carter was also a contributor with multiple touchdowns of his own on the day as well.
Defensively, Cooper Corley and Isaiah Flores were big time standouts on the day, they contributed to multiple interceptions preventing scoring drives for opponents.
After pool play concluded, it was time for the main event as Graham took on the Gatesville Hornets for a chance to make it to the state tournament.
It was a back and forth contest with Gatesville actually taking the lead first but Graham fighting back on the next two drives to take the lead.
That lead kept getting traded until Jordan Alexander made arguably the biggest play of the day. Graham led 33-25 late in the second half and Gatesville was attempting to drive to tie things up.
However, on a long pass down the right sideline, Alexander went up in man coverage and grabbed the game sealing interception for the Steers in the closing minutes of the contest.
Graham will play one more slate of matchups June 6-7 in Jim Ned followed by the state tournament June 26-27.
