Newspaper Game Stories posted here [Archive]

Rattler

11-02-2013, 12:05 PM

Steers take down the Huskies, win district title
BY TRAVIS LISLE
sports@grahamleader.com
follow @travlisle on twitter
The Graham Steers can call themselves District 5-3A champions after beating the Hirschi Huskies 71-39 on Halloween night in a game that was as strange as the holiday it was played on.
The game featured bad blood, miracle plays, airborne spiderwebs, missed calls, inadvertent whistles,
tons of touchdowns and even coaches using technology to state their cases to the refs.The game began with the Steers recovering a Hirschi fumble on the second play from scrimmage and delivering the first blow via a Hunter Baca touchdown reception on a pass from Ben Davis. Davis ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0, and the first sequence foreshadowed an eventual blowout. That notion disappeared when Hirschi responded with a touchdown one minute and 41 seconds later on a 27 yard pass play. The teams alternated touchdowns a couple of times, and after the first quarter the Steers found themselves in uncharted territory with a narrow 21-19 lead. Graham’s second quarter proved the difference in the game with the Steers scoring three unanswered touchdowns to go up 42-19 by intermission. The Steers came back in the third quarter with a daunting three-play, 65-yard drive capped by a four-yard Dillon Gonzales touchdown run to put the lead at 50-19.
It seemed as though thewind had been taken out of Hirschi’s sails until the Huskies scored on a freak play in which the ball carrier was definitely down but never whistled down by the referees. After the Graham defense made the tackle and backed off, the Hirschi ball carrier stood up and took the ball another 35 yards for a touchdown. Steers coach Kenny Davidson tried showing referees photographic evidence from sideline photographer David Flynn’s camera proving that the runner was down, but the touchdown held. Davidson explained that he really didn’t expect the call to get reversed, but he did want the referee to know that the Steers had a valid point in arguing the call. “That was really just an impulse,” Davidson said. “In the pros and in college, it’s getting to where you can make the right call and go back and change things if you have it. Nowadays, there are cameras and videos everywhere. Even though you can’t get the call reversed in that situation, it is more of a reactionary thing to show them what you saw.” With the score at 50-25 after the questionable touchdown, Mikey Freeze returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a Graham score. Freeze was responsible for two special teams touchdownsThursday night, the other coming on a fumbled Hirschi kickoff return that Freeze scooped up and took to the house earlier in the second quarter. Another play in the second quarter had Graham fans scratching their heads. On a Graham onside kick, a Hirschi player called for a fair catch and an inadvertent whistle was blown while the ball was still in the air. The Hirschi player did not catch the ball and it fell to the ground, but the damage was done. In all likelihood, the Steers, who had three playersaround the ball when it hit the ground, would have recovered the fumbled fair catch and retained possession, but Graham was forced to re-kick and chose to send the ball deep . Much like the first quarter, Graham alternated touchdowns with Hirschi in the fourth quarter and finished the game with a resounding, albeit goofy at points, win. The game was especially strange considering the yardage the Huskies were able to generate through the air against the Steers defense. Hirschi qaurterback Terrance Cooper showed a tremendous ability to scramble and throw accurate passes on the run, a trait that he hasn’t utilized all season. The Husky receivers also showed their ability to get in the air and catch the ball at its highest point. Graham did not expect to see that kind of passing when they entered the game.
“That quarterback, on film, had done nothing through the air all season,” Davidson explained. “Here’s what he did, last game of his senior year, he figured out that if he would just run around back there nobody can touch him.” Davidson said that the Huskies may have found some gold that they could use during the playoffs. Davidson added that he was proud of the numbers the offense put up, and thought that the Steers defense may have needed a game like that before the playoffs. “The 71 points is pretty remarkable,” Davidson said. “The fact that we gave up that many points and yards could be a good thing for us. Maybe we needed a wakeup call. You can’t let that overshadow the fact that our offense was on fire.” Three Hirschi late-hit calls proved what most people at the game already knew, that the game was a heated contest between two district rivals that didn’t particularly like each other on the gridiron. “Go to other towns that play each other every year, ” Davidson said. “That’s the way the game is. After thegame, both teams were congratulating each other and showing each other respect. I love the game. I love how riled up you can get and then shake hands and not harbor any hard feelings. I’d rather play a game with a lot at stake than a one-sided deal where you’re just looking for ways to get it over with.” Bryce Reeves was named the player of the game on the Q 94.7 broadcast for his two interceptions and strong offensive presence at the receiver position. Graham now has the opportunity to finish their regular season with a perfect 10-0 record, needing only a win over the Burkburnett Bulldogs to make that happen. The Bulldogs were 3-5 and 0-2 in district as of Friday morning, and their three wins came from games against Mineral Wells, Bridgeport and Krum. If the Steers can close things out against Burkburnett, they will be the first undefeated regular season Steers team since 2001. The Steers play the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, at Newton Field in Graham.