Against a defense that hasn’t conceded much of anything, Graham rumbled his way to a career day in Hillsdale’s conference opening victory against Lake Erie.
The senior tailback was explosive in a small sample size, blowing up for 232 yards on the ground on just 15 carries. He scored three touchdowns and averaged nearly 16 yards per carry.
Graham tied a 232-yard output from former Alderson Broaddus tailback Brandon Jones for the third best single game yardage total in conference history. He was just five yards away from matching the all-time record of 237 by Kentucky Wesleyan’s Josiah Israel in 2016.
Graham gashed the defense for long runs in the first half to give the Chargers a 14-0 lead on their Homecoming Weekend. He burst free for a 76-yard score in the first quarter before capitalizing on the only play from scrimmage on a 55-yard scamper.
It was only a 6-point game going into the fourth quarter as Lake Erie stayed resilient. Graham took the wind out of the Storm’s sails in the final seven minutes with a 15-yard red zone run to make the score final.
He is also one of a handful of players to score 3 touchdowns on the ground in a single game since the sport started in the league in 2016.
Graham entered this season with 34 rushing touchdowns in just 2 seasons, easily the most in conference career history. He also began his senior year just 11 yards of 2,000 in his career, totaling 1,989 in 2017 and 2018. This is his first conference career weekly award for the Chargers.