Sports

After giving up a comeback and taking a loss in their first game a few days before, the Graham Steers earned their first win of the season in dominant fashion with a 7-0 win over the Sweetwater Mustangs.

Graham had shown a lot of solid aspects to the team in the first game and those were all on full display during the win Friday, Jan. 5 against Sweetwater. The Steers executed their offense at a high level while allowing next to nothing on defense.

The complete performance helped Graham move to 1-1 on the young season as they’ll look to build off of this win.

Saturday’s match-up of the Graham Steers and the Wichita Falls Coyotes was the last time the two schools will meet on the hardwood. Wichita Falls High School will shut its doors at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year.

It was a competitive game throughout the contest but things took a rough turn for the Steers as they came away with the loss 58-48.

The Graham Lady Blues have had a strong start to their soccer season as they put together a string of impressive performances at the Gainesville tournament over the weekend.

The Lady Blues went 3-1 overall, as they finished 2nd in the tournament after taking a loss in a shootout to tournament host Gainesville.

One of the most noteworthy storylines involved first-year Graham head coach Casey Weil, who earned his 300th career win as a high school coach with the team’s 11-0 win over Arlington Summit in the first game for the Lady Blues.

There was hardly a single empty seat in the entire Newcastle gym as the No. 2 ranked Ladycats welcomed the top-ranked Throckmorton Lady Hounds for a district match-up this week.

Fans were rowdy long before the tip-off as a pair of teams with nearly identical records met Tuesday, Jan. 2 to see who deserved the higher ranking. Newcastle came into the game 17-1 on the season while Throckmorton boasted an 18-1 record.

After the Newcastle Ladycats finished on top of their match-up with the Throckmorton Lady Hounds, it was the Bobcats’ turn to tangle with the Greyhounds this past week.

The Bobcats put on a clinic Tuesday, Jan. 2 as they routed the visiting Greyhounds 72-19 in a victory that was only close for the first few minutes of the first quarter. Newcastle dominated all facets of the game en route to the victory.

As the end of the holiday period off from school comes to a close, students are preparing themselves for the inevitability of the return to the classroom.

Meanwhile, winter sports teams have been in action for about a week now. The basketball teams have resumed their schedules as they come to the close of non-district play while the soccer teams have officially kicked off their seasons.

The Graham basketball teams hit the road during this final week of the students’ time off from school for a couple of games against Castleberry High School in Fort Worth.

The Steers and Lady Blues met up with the Lions and Lady Lions and both came home with a pair of big wins Tuesday, Jan. 2.

For the Steers, this was their first and only match-up against the Lions this season. But for the Lady Blues, this was their second time seeing the Lady Lions, after defeating them 42-15 at the Hillsboro tournament at the beginning of December.

On a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon, the Graham Steers officially kicked off their soccer season with a match-up against the Carter-Riverside Eagles.

Things started off strong for the Steers but the game slipped away from them as the Eagles came back and took the match 4-3. The contest was shortened due to the cold conditions and impending rain but Graham couldn’t hold onto the lead.

Ending on a positive note is typically something most athletes like to do, but especially basketball players. They like to end practice on a made basket, a made free throw or a strong play.

The Graham Steers ended 2023 on a very positive note when they took down the Millsap Bulldogs 66-38 at home Saturday, Dec. 30. The win was the team’s 12th of the season and provided momentum moving into the new year.

The Graham Steers basketball team came out of its holiday break with a series of games over a tournament weekend at Fredericksburg last Thursday and Friday.

The team played four games over the course of the two-day tourney from Dec. 28-29 and faced stiff competition in each match-up. The tournament field included multiple high-level 4A teams and a few 5A teams, as well. The Steers played hard in every game but ultimately came away with a 1-3 record in the contests.