Ryans, Thompson named Athletes of the Week

The temperature has dropped and it seems like the cold weather is here to stay. Basketball season is underway while football playoffs around the state are in full swing.

Graham’s football team captured a bi-district championship in a damp, cold atmosphere in Aledo last week while the Lady Blues basketball team kicked off its season with a couple of games. The sports don’t stop for these athletes and Graham’s teams continue to compete at high levels.

For girls basketball, sophomore Mayci Ryans played a major role in the Lady Blues’ games against Haskell and Paradise while junior Ty Thompson led the Steers to a big win over Hillsboro. For their performances, Ryans and Thompson are The Graham Leader’s Athletes of the Week.

Mayci Ryans, point guard, Lady Blues basketball

It was a bit of a tough week for the Lady Blues in their first two games of the season. The team came away with two losses but Ryans was a bright spot and had a solid impact in both games.

The sophomore, in her second year on varsity, showcased an ability to score at different levels on the court. Ryans made close-range layups for points while also stepping back and knocking down a few 3-pointers during the week.

Ryans played her best game against Paradise where she led the Lady Blues in points scored with 14 while pulling down two rebounds and recording two assists. Defensively, the sophomore showed active hands by having five deflections and notching two steals that both turned into easy points for her.

“I liked how she came out, especially like in her second quarter she was more aggressive with the ball. She did a good job of kind of controlling the pace and handling the pressure,” head coach Kyle Wood said. “I thought she played with great effort, thought she kind of made some great passes that may not have led to a basket but were great plays and great moves.”

For such a young player to play such an important role on the varsity team it’s impressive especially considering the season just started. Ryans will have plenty of time to work with her teammates and she’ll be a leader for the Lady Blues for the years to come.

Ty Thompson, quarterback, Steers football

The Steers have had a long and very successful season to this point and one of the primary reasons why has been the play of their third-year starting quarterback in Thompson.

For someone who’s been the varsity quarterback since his first year at Graham, Thompson has improved every year and led his team to a near perfect regular season. The junior has a strong command of the offense and is able to do everything coaches ask of him.

During Graham’s bi-district championship win over Hillsboro, Thompson helped propel his team to a dominant 56-0 win over the Eagles. The junior signal caller completed 10 of 18 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown while rushing seven times for 40 yards and a score on the ground.

Thompson simply knows how to score. On the year he has accounted for 35 total touchdowns — 22 passing and 13 rushing. He’s averaging just over 200 yards passing per game with a completion percentage of 65% while only throwing three interceptions through 11 games.

With such a largely successful season for the Steers, the quarterback could have been named athlete of the week nearly every week. It attests not only to Thompson’s ability on the field through the stats, but also his qualities as a leader of this team and he still has another year remaining before he graduates.

“Ty has a great work ethic, he is constantly studying the opponent and game plan,” offensive coordinator Kyle Wheeler said. “Ty drives the offense and does a great job operating our system and making the right decisions.”