Sports

Games against district rival Iowa Park almost always mean tough battles with district championship implications. Since 2017, the winner of the annual battle has gone on to win the district title. The Steers had won three of those games going into Friday night’s rivalry game. As expected the game was a tough battle between two teams that knew what was at stake. It was the low-scoring affair that caught fans off-guard as the Steers defeated the Hawks 7-0 at Newton Field.

After last week’s 3-2 loss at Iowa Park, the Lady Blues entered Friday evening’s home rematch with more confidence. The team walked onto the court knowing they can win. Despite the same result, a 3-2 loss, the post-match feelings were different from 10 nights earlier. Rather than feeling happy they pushed the Lady Hawks to five sets, the Lady Blues were not happy with their fifth-set performance and their 25-20, 27-25, 20-25, 18-25, 17-15 finish.

Friday’s match mirrored the Oct. 5 meeting in a lot of ways. Both were competitive and taking advantage of mistakes was key.

The Graham Regional Medical Center Hospital Auxiliary raised over $48,000 for GRMC last month at its annual celebrity auction and golf tournament. GRMC Board of Trustees member and tournament organizer Sylvia Overton made the announcement this week in a release.

Students from Graham ISD, Breckenridge ISD, Olney ISD, Jacksboro ISD, Graford ISD, Perrin-Whitt ISD, Woodson ISD, Albany ISD and Bryson ISD gathered inside the competition gym at Graham High School as GHS played host for the annual 17th annual national Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Fields of Faith event.

The Lady Blues completed the first half of the district schedule with a win Tuesday night. In Mineral Wells, the Lady Blues walked away with a 3-0 victory, 25-16 25-9, 25-13. The win improved the Lady Blues’ district record to 5-1.

Mineral Wells took advantage of a slow start by the Lady Blues to open with a 6-1 lead. Isavel Ramirez scored on an ace along with kills from Abbey Tincher and Marlee Lawhon. Three errors were committed by the Lady Blues in that span. Trinity Gregory earned a kill on a tip over the net to briefly tie the set at 1-1.

The Graham High School cross country teams ran in the 5-4A district meet Thursday morning at Kirby Middle School. The girl’s team won the district championship while the boy’s team placed second. Both have advanced to the 4A Region 1 meet taking place at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock Oct. 25.

The Graham Steers earned an important win Friday night. It was not just the win that mattered. The victory margin came into play as it will be a tight contest for a district championship. The Steers traveled to Bridgeport Friday night and came home with a 30-14 win.

Steers coach Kenny Davidson said every point is going to matter this season. The district championship is going to be a close race that could come down to tiebreakers.

After a bump in the road at Iowa Park, the Lady Blues are back on track. Playing with a full roster for the first time since the Lu Allen Memorial Volleyball Tournament, the Lady Blues returned to the win column with a 3-0 win at home Friday evening against Vernon. The Lady Blues defeated the Lady Lions 25-13, 25-15, 25-19 to improve to 4-1 in 5-4A.

Moral victories do not count in the standings. What happened during Tuesday’s five-set loss at Iowa Park will not be told in the results or final record for the 2021 Lady Blues volleyball team. Tuesday night will go down as a loss to the Lady Hawks, 25-27,25-22, 25-16, 24-26, 16-14. What happened inside that loss will grow with the core of this team over the next two to three years.

The sport of football has several clichés. The cliché to sum up the Graham Steers’ 17-0 homecoming victory over the Midland Greenwood Rangers according to Steers head coach Kenny Davidson is “smash-mouth football.”

The Steers entered homecoming weekend looking to erase the memories of a rough September that saw the team outscored 149-80, with decreased scoring outputs each week. The team faced plenty of challenges going into the game.