Graham,Highlanders upend Clinton, 28-14

CLINTON  You can rest assured the shoulder is fine.

With question marks surrounding the playing status of running back Darius Graham for MacArthur's battle with Clinton, all eyes were on the performance of the senior and just how healthy he was.

The results: MacArthur 28, Clinton 14 with Graham carrying the ball 30 times for 219 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 45 yards.

The possum isn't playing anymore, and it has teeth.

"It was overwhelming, they wore me out," Graham said. "I missed a whole week of conditioning and then the coach said I could suit up and the docs said I could play and I was able to give it all I had."

Against a very good Clinton offensive and defensive lines, the Highlanders were able to use tempo to keep the Red Tornadoes on their toes and continue to wear them down. Graham's touchdowns of 1, 34 and 9 yards all emerged after two or three plays of Mac hitting the ball hard to the middle, quickly getting back to the line and hitting the ball again.

"I am really proud of our defensive front and our offensive line, they did a great job," Mac head coach Brett Manning said. "Clinton is one of the best we will play. I have a lot of respect for them, and I think they are going to be a really good team. It's just early in the season."

Clinton was able to answer, but after a while things just started falling apart for the No. 1 team in Class 4A.

Read the Full Story...