County of Champions: Graham, Newcastle, Olney make history in Bi-District Playoffs

It was a history-making week for football in Young County. Last week was the culmination of a culture change for Olney football, continued improvement in Newcastle and the continuation of tradition in Graham. For the first time in Young County history, the Graham Steers, Newcastle Bobcats and Olney Cubs are bi-district champions at the same time.

Thursday night, the Olney Cubs defeated Ralls 49-14 for the Cubs’ first bi-district championship since 2000. The championship comes one year removed from the Cubs breaking a 14-year playoff drought. The Cubs broke a school record for total rushing yards with 533 yards.

Newcastle football coach Julian Menchaca and his Bobcats were looking to break their own playoff drought. The Bobcats entered Thursday’s matchup against Union Hill after missing the playoffs via tiebreaker in 2019 and a third-place district finish in 2020. Their 56-14 victory Thursday night marks the Bobcats’ first bi-district championship since 2016.

The playoffs and bi-district championships have become the tradition and expectation for Graham Steers football. Friday’s 35-14 win over Sanger marked the Steers’ sixth-consecutive bi-district championship and ninth in 10 years.

For the rest of the story, see the Nov. 17 edition of The Graham Leader.