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Young Steers win district championship
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Ri’en Perez (55) battles with Vernon’s B.T. White for the football during the third quarter of Friday’s win at Lion Stadium. Also pictured are Garrett Dickey (34), Landon Hebert (45) and Will Hays (17). The Steers earned the district championship for the second straight season. Leader photo by David Flynn
Winning a district championship is far from easy. Trying to defend your district title from a year ago with almost a completely new roster presents a challenge.
Graham lost 28 seniors off its 14-1 state semifinal team from 2017 while the defense returned just two starters.
Despite those odds, the Graham Steers are back-toback District 3-4A Division II champions following Friday’s 41-12 win over Vernon at Leo Britain Field.
“I told my team before the game there’s no rookies anymore,” said Steers head coach Kenny Davidson. “This is the 10th game in the 11th week of the year, we are all veterans now. There’s a lot of sophomores that had a lot of experience and we are excited about our chances heading into the postseason.”
The Steers turned a tight 14-12 lead at halftime into a four-touchdown victory. The Graham offense produced 27 second-half points while the defense pitched a shutout over the final two quarters. Senior running back Chase Gilmore scored three touchdowns from 12, 2 and 8 yards out.
Vernon actually managed to outgain Graham in..
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