It’s that time of year where most fall sports have ended and winter sports are getting underway.
Graham’s football team is gearing up for a hopefully long playoff run while the girls basketball team has gotten a few games under their belts.
For their performances recently, Briley Randall of the Lady Blues basketball team and Ryder Taylor of the Steers football team earned selections as Athletes of the Week.
Briley Randall, Lady Blues basketball
Volleyball season ended for the Lady Blues last week with a hard-fought loss to Decatur in the area round of the playoffs.
While it’s tough to see the year end, especially for a large group of seniors on the roster, the conclusion of the season brings the postseason awards.
And the Graham Lady Blues won plenty of those.
Beginning with District 6-4A honors, which are voted on by coaches, the Lady Blues earned a handful of awards. Senior Lillian Noble was named District Offensive MVP for her abilities and the powerful threat she was to opposing defenses.
It’s common for fans to see 60 points in a game and assume that it was a dominant offensive performance for the winning team.
While the Graham Lady Blues certainly made the most out of their time with the ball in their hands, it was primarily their active defense that propelled them to a 60-18 win over the South Hills Lady Scorpions.
Another game, another shutout.
Only this one came with the first of what Graham hopes will be many gold ball trophies this postseason.
The Steers took the field Thursday, Nov. 14 against the Dunbar Wildcats and left that match-up with a 60-0 win to kick off their playoff run.
For many of Graham’s players, this wasn’t their first experience winning a bi-district trophy. The Steers have won two out of their last three opening playoff games, including last year’s game against Hillsboro.
Things got a little wet and wild in Graham’s regular season finale against Eagle Mountain, but the Steers maintained the course and finished their regular season with a 49-3 win.
With a rainy victory Friday, Nov. 8 over the Knights, Graham put the bow on a perfect district schedule. The team went 5-0 and outscored all their opponents by a combined 257-3 for an average of 51.4 points per game.
Newcastle’s playoff hopes seemed a bit precarious heading into last Friday’s regular season finale against Bryson. Put simply, the Bobcats needed to win in order to keep their season alive.
The Bobcats did more than just win as they went on to defeat the Cowboys 54-6 in a game that ended in the third quarter thanks to Newcastle’s offensive prowess.
As the temperatures cool, sports seasons change, and Graham Junior High School has begun new sports schedules.
The junior high Lady Blues transitioned recently from volleyball to basketball, and Graham opened its season at home last week Monday, Nov. 4 against Bowie.
Graham’s teams swept the visiting Lady Rabbits with a few huge wins in the mix. One of the Lady Blues’ teams even shut out one of Bowie’s teams in a defensive masterpiece.
Stats and information for these sports roundups are provided by GJHS Girl’s Athletic Coordinator Kim Brewster.
After sweeping their bi-district playoff game, the Graham Lady Blues were dealt a somewhat unlucky draw in their area round.
The Lady Blues matched up with the Decatur Lady Eagles, the same team that knocked Graham out of the playoffs in the area round last season.
At a neutral site Thursday, Nov. 7, the Lady Blues couldn’t get their revenge and saw their season come to an end in a three-set sweep to the Lady Eagles by set scores of 15-25, 13-25 and 15-25.
Seasons are changing and temperatures are dropping. Fall sports seasons are nearing their end while winter sports are getting set to go.
In the last week, the Newcastle Ladycats cross country team raced at the state meet where the team took 11th place overall. The Graham Steers football team put the state on notice with a blowout win over top-ranked Brock.
For their performances in their respective events and their work all season, Mateo Rodriguez of Graham football and Allison Melton of Newcastle cross country earned selections as Athletes of the Week.
New Graham girls basketball head coach Baylee Thompson is undefeated in her new position.
Though there’s still plenty of basketball left to play this year and for Thompson as a coach, her Lady Blues team kicked off its season and her head coaching career with a 44-37 win on the road Tuesday, Nov. 5 at Haskell.
This year’s roster has seen a bit of turnover with three seniors from last year’s class moving on due to graduation and a couple players not returning. But in this season opener, the Lady Blues were led by their strong group of returning athletes.
