Sports

The Graham Steers made the most of their matchup against Abilene Christian, dominating the Panthers 77-39. 

The game took place Friday, Jan. 2 shortly after the junior varsity Steers picked up their own victory. 

After the first quarter the Steers took a 13 point lead 26-13. Brodie Martin totaled 10 points in the first quarter on a pair of three pointers and a pair of two pointers. Jagger Nees hit a pair of three pointers in the quarter as well and Thomason Burkett scored four points on a pair of two pointers. 

The JV Steers adjusted to a quick schedule change late last week for a home matchup against the Abilene Christian Panthers. 

Graham adjusted well however, taking down the Panthers in a dominant display by a score of 51-22. 

The game took place Friday, Jan. 2 and after the first quarter, the Steers smothered the Panthers defensively, allowing only one point while taking a 13-1 lead. 

The Graham Steers capped off 2025 with their final tournament of the regular season in the Hays Hawks Christmas Classic. 

The Steers finished the weekend 2-2 right before heading into district play. 

The tournament took place from Monday, Dec. 29 to Wednesday, Dec. 31 and the Steers faced off against teams from Canyon Lake, Burkburnett and 5A Austin Regents. 

The Steers opened the tournament with a win over the Canyon Lake Hawks 68-28 but lost to them in their second matchup by just one point 47-46. 

The Newcastle Ladycats played a late-week matchup against the Archer City Lady Cats and made the hometown crowd happy, coming away with the victory by a final score of 43-30. 

After the first quarter Friday, Jan. 2,  Newcastle led 12-4. Camren Mallory scored six points in the quarter on two midrange jumpers and a pair of free throws. 

The Graham Steers kicked off their regular season against the Wichita Falls Legacy Leopards last week. Unfortunately for the Steers, they were not able to pick up the victory losing to the Leopards 7-0.

The Steers traveled Tuesday, Dec. 30 to Wichita Falls on a chilly and windy day for the matchup. 

Coming into the contest, the Steers were also shorthanded with eight players not able to play. The offense was cold throughout much of the game not being able to find the back of the net. 

Coming out of the Christmas break, there were several standout performances from Graham athletes despite the limited action. 

This week, The Graham Leader is recognizing Addyson Weaver of the Lady Blues and Jacob Collins of the Steers as this week’s Athletes of the Week. 

Addyson Weaver, Lady Blues Basketball

The Lady Blues returned to action this past week for a slate of tournament games just before their district schedule begins. 

The Newcastle Bobcats picked up their regular season schedule after the Christmas break for an early week matchup at home against Haskell Indians and fell in a last second heartbreaker 53-50. 

After the first quarter Tuesday, Dec. 30, the Bobcats led the Indians by two points 10-8. 

Mikey Soito led the quarter in scoring with four points on two midrange jumpers. Rylan Hinojosa and Jacob Omundi supported Soito with a midrange bucket each. 

This year brought many highs for the athletic programs in Graham and Newcastle and The Graham Leader is highlighting those accomplishments.

The Leader is taking a look back at all of the highlights from 2025 in the world of sports.

January

Graham Steers athletics will see another one of their programs begin regular season action as the calendar year turns into 2026.

In just a little over a month, the Steers baseball team will take the field for regular season play. 

The Steers’ first scrimmage game of the season will take place at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 and the team is looking to build off of the success they achieved from last season according to head coach Allen McGee.

As we transition into the new year, Graham High School will look back and honor each of its athletes who participated in its fall athletics program. 

GHS will celebrate the effort and accomplishments of each of these athletes during their annual fall sports banquet in January. 

The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 and will commemorate athletes for their achievements in sports like football, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading. 

Awards will also be presented to team managers and athletic trainers for each of these teams.