Fight breaks out during Graham, Hirschi football game
A fight broke out on the field with 23.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter of Friday night’s football game between the Graham Steers and Hirschi Huskies at Newton Field. As a result, the game was suspended.
Tensions rose throughout the game in which a combined 22 penalties were called against the two teams, including one on the play leading up to the fight.
With the Huskies ahead 24-14, the Steers were beginning to come back in the game having held the Huskies without a touchdown in the third quarter. On the Steers defensive side, Peyton Kinman intercepted a pass from Huskies' quarterback Jimmell McFalls to Jamarion Carroll near the Huskies’ end zone. Following the play, Kinman was slammed to the ground from behind by Carroll causing a fight to break out on the field, including players from both benches running to the field.
Coaches from both sidelines ran to the field to break up the fight. Following a meeting between game officials, coaches and Graham ISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse, it was announced that the game would be suspended.
“It just got crazy, we had told our kids all week, we talked about not retaliating and (staying) disciplined,” Steers head coach Kenny Davidson said. “There was a lot of flags (...) Kinman intercepted a pass and then they picked him up and threw him down on his head, you know, that’s just unnecessary (...) I don’t know, I’ll have to watch the film, we’ll have it on film. I haven’t really just figured it out in my mind just what happened.”
Davidson said he was unsure what the next steps would be. He said resuming the game at another time was an option. Davidson said both coaches could be required to go to the UIL headquarters in Austin.
In a text message to The Graham Leader, Graham ISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse said the suspended game will not be resumed.
"Due to the number of players that were determined to be ejected from the Graham vs Hirschi game, the suspended game can't be continued," Cruse wrote. "The District 3-4A District Executive Committee will have to meet to determine the official winner of the game. The suspended players will be benched for a minimum of one-half of the next contest."
Prior to and after the game, a screenshot circulated on social media from a Dave Campbell's Texas Football app from an account claiming to be a Steers fan making racially charged statements. The validity of the account has not been confirmed.
At 9:32 p.m. Sunday night, Cruse released a written statement via the Graham ISD Facebook page and Parentsquare.
"Last Friday night the Graham Steers football team opened up district play with a contest against Hirschi High School. Because of an incident that happened on the field late in the third quarter this game was initially suspended. Later, after receiving from the game officials the extensive list of players on both squads who were by rule ejected, the game was canceled and will not be completed," Cruse wrote.
"Earlier in the day on Friday an unknown person posted vile racist comments about Hirschi High School and their fans on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Friday App via the chat feature. Without any doubt, this racist comment was abhorrent and unacceptable. We have been working with the staff of Dave Campbell’s organization to try and determine who made this horrific post. Unfortunately, we have been unsuccessful in determining the true identity of the person who posted the comment. While we have the registration name and email address that is associated with the account that made the post we have not been able to determine the true identity of the person who posted the comment. We have queried our school databases and have not found a connection with any student enrolled in Graham ISD. Sadly this is a more than likely case of someone using an alias and a fake email address to create an account purely as an attempt to stir up controversy and spew hatred.
"After approximately 48 hours I am still left with the same feeling. The feeling that we can and must be better humans. We all can, should, and must continue to teach and educate our young people not to repeat the wrongs of the past.
"Although this post may have been a major factor in the increased on-the-field tension, it does not absolve anyone from their responsibility for their individual actions. As such, our student-athletes involved in the on-the-field altercation will be disciplined accordingly.
"I understand that statements can and should be meaningful. That being said committed, consistent, and ongoing action are the only tools that lead to positive change. I recognize that regardless of one’s own race or ethnicity, each of us as individuals is at a different point in the journey to becoming anti-racist. I understand that racism is the combination of social and systemic forces that converge and yield disparate outcomes for our communities. As a learning organization, we must purposefully strive to identify, discuss, and challenge issues that prevent us from being an anti-racist and ethnically unbiased community."
This is an ongoing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
