In their second do-or-die game of the week the Graham Lady Blues came up short in a three-set loss to the Decatur Lady Eagles by scores of 15-25, 18-25 and 14-25.
The loss in the area round of playoffs to Decatur ends Graham’s season only one game after the Lady Blues were named bi-district champions with a win over Sweetwater.
For an athlete representing her entire school as the lone state qualifier, Mattie Dollar made her community proud.
Dollar competed at the 1A state cross country meet Friday, Nov. 3 and ended her season with a strong showing at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. Out of 145 total runners, Dollar finished 43rd with a time of 13:28.9.
The first-place finisher from Springlake-Earth ran a time of 11:20.1 while the final runner came in at 18:36.0. Dollar competed alone at the state meet due to Newcastle not having enough runners to qualify for the team event.
The colder weather hit hard this past week and it was felt in and around the fall sports still happening around the area. But the lower temperatures didn’t deter teams around the county as they continued to show out in various sports events.
Graham and Newcastle both have teams either already in the postseason or trending in that direction. This week, The Graham Leader selected Mattie Dollar, of Newcastle’s cross country team, and Jace Gill, of the Graham football team, as athletes of the week for their performances during recent competitions and throughout the season.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline of playing for a bi-district championship, perhaps it was the energy and noise from the crowd or perhaps it was simply a culmination of all the hard work they put in throughout the regular season.
Whatever the reason, the Graham Lady Blues came out, and apart from one tough set, absolutely dominated the Sweetwater Lady Mustangs and earned the title of Bi-District Champions. The Lady Blues won Monday, Oct. 30 in four sets by scores of 25-4, 25-9, 23-25 and 25-11.
One hundred and fifty two points. That’s how many combined points Newcastle and Gold-Burg scored in their district matchup Friday, Oct. 27 in a game where the Bobcats came out on top 78-74.
Seventy-eight points sets a new season-high total for Newcastle in a year where this is the fourth time the team has eclipsed the 70-point mark. The Bobcats scored 72 in the season-opener against Rule, 75 against Victory Christian Academy and 74 in the district-opener against Strawn.
The Graham Steers have played 10 straight weeks of football without any breaks in between.
For a time Friday, it looked like that gauntlet of a schedule caught up to them, but the Steers (9-1, 3-1) pulled the right strings in all parts of the game to pull out a win over the Greenwood Rangers 44-26.
The Rangers (2-7, 1-2) came into the game with a lackluster record both on the season and in district but made the game a fight right from the start.
Newcastle’s cross country team competed at the regionals race Monday, Oct. 23 in Grand Prairie and one member of the team advanced to the state meet that will be held in the beginning of November.
Junior Mattie Dollar finished in the top 10 of her meet in seventh place to earn a trip to the state meet Friday, Nov. 3 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
The other two members of the team, senior Lenaya Gonzalez and freshman Raelynn Bennett, each finished in nearly the top half of all racers but will not move forward.
As the calendar nears the end of October and student-athletes prepare for the start of winter sports like basketball and soccer among others, football and volleyball are still very present around the community.
This week, Tara Dawson, of the Graham Lady Blues volleyball team, and Isaac King, of the Newcastle Bobcats football team, earned selections as Athletes of the Week for their performances during the period of Thursday, Oct. 19 through Wednesday, Oct. 25.
Tara Dawson, outside hitter, Graham volleyball
With both their positions in the district standings already locked up, the Graham Lady Blues traveled to Stephenville for the regular season finale with the Honeybees.
The Lady Blues fought hard against the No. 1 team in the district but ultimately ended up getting swept in three sets by scores of 18-25, 14-25 and 14-25. Graham finished the regular season with a 22-15 record overall while going an even 4-4 in district to claim third place.
The Lady Blues volleyball team honored two seniors — one on the court and one off the court — Friday, Oct. 20 with a sweeping win over the visiting Brownwood Lady Lions.
On the court, senior Olga Morales led her team to a straight set sweep of the visiting Lady Lions by scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-5. Off the court, senior Allie Posey provided the support and leadership her team has gotten used to all season from the team manager.
