She was trying to decide if she should try out for Brad Ratliff’s Eagles Football team. Then Graham got the motivation she needed.
“This was my first year playing football,” Graham said. “I went out for it because I thought it would be fun. And also somebody told me I couldn’t do it. Somebody at my school – I will not name him. He said I would just be a kicker.”
Graham was not the kicker for the 2018 Elmore Park Eagles. She was the right guard on the offensive line and also got in the mix playing along the defensive line.
When the 13-year-old earned her No. 54 jersey, she didn’t go bragging to that classmate who dared her.
“I kept it low-key,” she recalled. “He saw my jersey.”
And throughout the season many saw Graham work along the offensive line. But the daughter of Amanda Graham and stepfather Ken desired another position initially.
“I tried to be a wide receiver,” she acknowledged. “But I really can’t catch well. He was like, ‘Do you want to try out for the line?’ I was like, ‘Sure.’ So I kind of stuck with it.”
Coach Ratliff saw the potential in Graham as she worked in practice and performed exercises like the Oklahoma Drill.
“It was adjustment but once you got the hang of it, it was natural,” Graham said. “The steps you take are different from any other position. The hands are important, too.”
Quickly Graham learned what most offensive linemen know: It is easier to pass block but more enjoyable to block for the run.
“You don’t stay and protect, you get to attack,” she said with a smile. “You get to go this way and get this person then go that way and get that person.”
When she stepped on the field for the first game, Graham was ready for either blocking situation. Those days in practice and the drills gave her the confidence she needed to play on the line of scrimmage.
“The Oklahoma Drill made me realize I could hang with the guys,” she recalled. “I was proud of myself. I could possibly make it out there.”
Graham got in her three-point stance and when the coach shouted go, she went on the attack after the ball carrier. And she held the pigskin and took on the challenge of her teammates trying to bring her down.
“I threw some of them around,” she noted. “Oh, this is pretty nice.”
Graham said among her Eagle teammates, a mutual respect developed quickly and she was no longer a girl on the team. She learned football emphasizes teamwork and relying on others to succeed.
Graham will follow in her brother Seth’s successful footsteps by attending Bartlett High School next year. Seth is a senior at BHS and scored a 32 on the ACT.
Maggie said don’t expect a 32 out of her in a few years, but make plans to see her in a Panther Football uniform in 2019.
“I’m going to try to play high school football,” she declared. “I want to try out for running back.”
Graham has advice for any girl who wants to try out for her football team in the near future.
“If a girl wants to follow in my footsteps, I would say if there is any discrimination behind your back?” she said. “It’s already behind you so keep it there. Always keep moving forward. And if they’re not on the team, tell them, ‘At least I am on the team doing something productive.’
“If it is your passion, if it is something you want to do, you should be able to go out and do it,” Graham concluded. “Not depend on guys to do all the heavy lifting and all the hard work. Girls if they want to should be able to without being discriminated against.”
