Steers compete at 7-on-7 state tournament

The Graham Steers knew that defending their state 7-on-7 state championship was going to be a tall order. With just three returnees from last season's state title team, the Steers struggled winning just one game during their two-day stay in College Station. Graham went 1-2 on the opening day of the tournament, defeating Needville in a shootout, 61-53, before losing two tight contests, that could have gone either way, to Cuero and Gatesville. There's no question that the Steers will be young this season, but the team saw several bright spots from the summer. Sophomore-to-be-quarterback Hunter Lanham showed that he his capable of leading the offense, with several clutch throws that led to winning scoring drives, such as the win over Brock that clinched the Steers state bid in the Hurst Tournament. Lanham and the offense torched Needville's secondary Thursday afternoon by throwing for five TDs and putting up 61 points. After falling behind 7-0, Lanham connected with Marcus Clark to make it a 7-7 score. From there, the new signal-caller spread the ball around to players such as Chase Gilmore, Daniel Gilbertson, Raider Horn and Brody Rogers in the victory. The 61 point-outing by the Steers' offense against a Blue Jays' team that finished 6-3 a season ago, was the most points scored in any game by any team during the opening day of pool play in the Division II bracket. For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.