Steers looking for first win tonight

Coming off a loss to begin the 2018 season, the Graham Steers will look to rebound on the road tonight in Mineral Wells.

Although the squad took a 43-29 loss to a bigger opponent, there were plenty of positives to take away from the outcome. The Steers went up against TCU commit Daimarque Foster, who led the entire state in rushing with over 3,000 yards in 2017. While Foster scored four touchdowns and gained 245 total yards, Graham cut into a large deficit to make it a six-point game late into the fourth quarter.

The Steers will get another big test on the ground tonight with Mineral Wells running back Kahlil Thompson. The senior ran for 197 yards and had 25 of the team's 31 carries on the ground in last Friday's 31-21 victory over Carrollton Ranchview. 

Tonight's battle will feature two young quarterbacks in Graham's Hunter Lanham and Mineral Wells' Drew Huff. Both players made are coming off their first varsity start as the quarterback. Huff made completetions to five different receivers. His favorite target out wide, D'ija Kennedy, caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. 

The young Graham defense which returned just two starters from last season's Classs 4A Division II state semifinal team grew up in a big way according to their head coach on Friday night. One of the returning stars on the side of the ball is senior defensive lineman Klayton Read. Read had a team-high 13 tackles including a sack. In his first start under the Friday night lights' sophomore J.J. Lee had 10 tackles. 

Corey Ballew, Salvador Mendez, Will Hays, Brandon Palacios, Landon Hebert and Ri'en Perez should be tested again tonight after Mineral Wells scored three of their four touchdowns from at least 40-yards out.

The Steers should be able to put up points on the scoreboard after the Rams gave up over 450 yards of total offense to the Wolves last Friday.

Running back Chase Gilmore nearly clipped the 2,000 yard mark during his junior season and began his senior season by rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns against Hirschi. Lanham's favorite target proved to be sophomore Daniel Gilbertson. Gilbertson had several clutch catches for a team-high 166 yards in the loss.

Tonight's matchup marks the first time the two teams have squared off since 2015 when the Rams defeated the Steers by a final of 31-27 at home.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Ram Stadium.