By Wanda Mankin,
Graham School
The dream of football became a reality Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015.  
The Graham Chieftains hit the field for the very first time every as a football team against the Haileyville Warriors.  The team not only made history with their team but also with a win!  
While the program is for grades 6, 7 and 8, the plans are to move to high school in the next 2 years.  Ryal Elementary does co-op with us for football.
During the consolidation meetings with the community, one of the things that was top on the list was more sports opportunities besides basketball for our students.  Last year the softball team was added both in high school and upper elementary along with baseball also in upper elementary.
Cross Country and track and field were also a part of our athletic program.   So the talks began to begin a football program.  The cost alone was an obstacle so parents began talking about asking the Muscogee Creek Nation for a one time donation.  After meeting with members of the National Council, a proposal was submitted. A donation was given in March to the school to help start the program.  A coach was hired and the rest is history.
A big thanks is issued to the National Council for their vote of confidence in our program, to Mitch Jack and Frank Coachman for sponsoring our bill and guiding us through the process, Coach Steve Corn for seeing the vision we had for our team and making it a reality and to the school board for supporting us along the way.