With the Graham Steers heading into the midpoint of their district schedule and Newcastle making history with its newly launched powerlifting program, athletes are hard at work representing their communities.
Basketball teams are approaching the midpoint of their seasons, powerlifting is underway and district play for soccer is on the horizon. Graham and Newcastle have both had athletes make an impact for their respective sports in the last week.
For the first half between the Graham Steers and Glen Rose Tigers the teams were neck and neck. What followed was nothing short of an assault across the court from both teams, with Glen Rose coming out on top.
While the Steers were only ahead for one quarter Tuesday, Jan. 21, they never were far behind the Tigers throughout the game and were not giving up.
Things looked bleak in the beginning of the Lady Blues district matchup against the Lady Tigers, but the team never lost its drive. Despite their late-game scoring boost, Glen Rose was always just out of reach.
Things were rough out of the gate for the Lady Blues, with the only points on the board in the first quarter on three 2-point shots, two from Fayth Bryer and one from Addyson Weaver. The Graham team was down 18 points with the game at 6-24 moving into the second quarter.
The Mineral Wells Lady Rams brought a fight to the court last Friday, but a fourth-quarter boost from the Lady Blues brought them their first district win.
With the exception of the last quarter, the game was too close to call for the first three quarters. The Graham and Mineral Wells teams played a defensive game while fighting missed shots and fouls.
From the sidelines to the stands, you could feel the energy during the Steers district matchup against the Mineral Wells Rams. That energy led to an aggressive clash which ended in another district victory for the Steers.
Following a close one-point win Tuesday, Jan. 14 over Brownwood, the Steers brought that same excitement to the court Friday, Jan. 17. Both teams were aggressive out of the gate executing plays from one side of the court to the other.
As Newcastle’s basketball teams are approaching the midpoint of their district schedule, players across the court have made critical plays to lead their teams to victory.
The Bobcats and Ladycats recently had home matchups where both teams secured hard-fought wins and will look to maintain that enthusiasm and dedication throughout district play.
Keyton Newland of the Bobcats and Emma Hawkins of the Ladycats have been named Athletes of the Week for their performances in their recent games.
Keyton Newland, Bobcats basketball
The Ladycats continued to be a force on the court, securing their fourth district win this week against the Garner Lady Longhorns and moving to 4-0 in district play.
Tuesday's home game marked the team's eighth consecutive win overall this season.
Head coach Ryan Dollar said each team they play brings a fight for the Newcastle team and allows them to grow.
Aggression was the name of the game Tuesday as the Newcastle Bobcats fought fouls, missed shots and a Garner team that would not let up. Despite that, a late game boost brought the team to a hard-fought victory.
It was a game that had Newcastle and Garner fans on the edge of their seats from the beginning.
“I was proud of our defensive intensity throughout the entire game,” head coach James King said. “We were able to hold #13 and #30, who both average close to 20 points per game, to only 10 points total.”
After the winter weather delayed games to Saturday, the Graham Steers fought hard in their district opener against the Brock Eagles but came up short in a 89-28 loss.
After a short break following a loss Wednesday, Jan. 3 against Abilene Cooper, the Steers were looking to make a statement for their district opener against the Eagles.
Out of the gate the Steers ran into problems with the Eagles pushing a strong offense and defense. For the first three-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter the only scoring on the board was from Brock.
Athletes from Graham and Newcastle were selected for the Academic All-State and Fall Sports All-State teams from the Texas Girls Coaches Association in cross country and volleyball.
TGCA selects the Fall Sports All-State Teams in cross country and volleyball, with athletes being nominated by member coaches. Freshman through senior athletes can be nominated for the honor.
Each conference may select up to 50 athletes to honor decided by the sport’s All-State Committee, which is composed of TGCA member coaches selected by their peers for the committee position.
