One Bobcat, two Steers play in football all-star game

Both Graham and Newcastle were strongly represented in the 25th anniversary of the Big Country Fellowship of Christian Athletes football all-star game.

Graham’s Talan Yowell and Kaleb Crawford, and Newcastle’s Isaac King met with other high school graduates from 37 counties in the Big Country area in Abilene for the Myrle Greathouse All-Star Football Classic. Crawford and King played on the red team while Yowell worked on the blue team, who ended up winning 20-10.

For all three of these players, the opportunity to represent their schools one final time was one of the highlights of the game and practices leading up to it, no matter the outcome.

“I think I realized after this game that what I really loved about it was the people I played with and not really the game as much,” Yowell said. “I mean, I love the game, but I had a lot more fun with my buddies playing it out here.”

Yowell saw time at multiple positions along the blue team offensive line with some of his best work coming at the tackle spot. Crawford did damage at noseguard on the red team defensive line while King worked his way around the field, lining up at cornerback, wide receiver and kick return.

Players met their teammates and coaches Wednesday leading up to the event and had a few days of practices to get things together. Offense came at a premium during the game as the blue team scored the only points in the opening quarter on a 17-yard touchdown pass.

In the second quarter, Crawford and King each made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball. Crawford broke through the line for a quarterback sack and King had a couple of tackles from his corner position.

“I had fun for the most part,” Crawford said. “I think I did great. I will happily take one sack of the QB because that's usually more than average for me.”

The red defense made a stand as the blue team had to settle for a field goal on the drive to take a 10-0 lead, which the score remained going into halftime.

For King, coming from Newcastle, which plays six-man football as part of Class 1A, the transition took a bit of time over the course of the practices. But he said once he figured it out, things clicked and he felt confident with his contributions.

“I've only played six-man my entire life, so it's been hard getting to know the game, I guess, but it's been fun,” King said. “It took me a couple of days getting used to it, but the guys are awesome… I really wasn't thinking I was going to play that much, but I ended up out there a lot.”

The red team finally got on the board on their first drive of the second half after an interception. The red team drove 63 yards in three plays to make the score 10-7 midway through the third quarter.

The blue team recovered from the interception and led a scoring drive to push the lead back to 10 points. Yowell spent time on the line at center and tackle and contributed to the way the team moved down the field.

Following the blue team’s score to make it 17-7, King lined up at kick return. He received one of the only kicks all night that didn’t go out the back of the end zone and brought it out for a huge gain of 41 yards to set the red team up with great field position and momentum moving forward.

“I almost was down because I slipped back (near the goal line) but I did get a little bit of yards on that play,” King said.

That drive ended in a field goal for the red team, which was their last score of the evening. The blue team kicked another field goal late in the game to seal the 20-10 win.

With the conclusion of this all-star game, Crawford closes the chapter on his high school career and looks forward to the next step: playing football at Howard Payne University. The graduate has already been on campus for workouts and is preparing for the upcoming season in the fall.

“I'm excited. (HPU) promised great things, they're showing me great results, too,” Crawford said.

For Yowell and King, their football careers have likely come to an end with the conclusion of this final game. It’s bittersweet, but it was another positive experience for both of them.

“It's a little bit sad, but I think I’ve probably had enough of sports,” King said. “It's been really fun. I've loved everything I've gotten to do.”