STEPHENVILLE -- Call it the gift that keeps on giving, even if it is a bit of a self-serving one.

Argyle running back Kyle Frizzell had 132 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown to lead the Eagles to a 21-8 win over Graham on Saturday in some nasty weather conditions at Memorial Stadium. The win puts Argyle (10-2) in a Class 3A Division II Region I quarterfinal next week against Snyder (10-2).

After the game, Frizzell gave all the glory to his offensive linemen. After all, they kind of owed him.

Frizzell got to 993 yards on the season in last week’s 17-0 win over Clyde, and promised his linemen he’d take them out for a steak dinner when he passed 1,000 yards – only the second 1,000-yard rusher in Argyle history.

So last week, Frizzell took his linemen and their dates to Silver Fox in Grapevine and dropped $733 on steak, and watching the holes the junior had to run through, it paid dividends.

“Our coaches have been telling us all week this is a tough team,” Frizzell said. “We’d been prepping the linemen and working with them. We were gonna do everything we could to open the run tonight. They did a great job. It was all the linemen.”

The win was the second straight uncharacteristic win for the Eagles, who pitched their first shutout of the year last week against Clyde and then came out and threw just 16 passes and played ball-control offense in Saturday’s win over Graham, who played eight playoff teams in the regular season. The Steers’ only setback was a 17-10 loss to Vernon in Week 9.

“We have an offense that basically we try to take what they give us,” said Argyle head coach Todd Rodgers. “Graham was wanting to stop our passing game, and the offensive line and [Frizzell] bowed up and ran the ball well enough to maintain long drives.”

Senior quarterback JJ Harp came into the game as one of the area’s top passers, and with the exception of an inconsequential interception, ran a near-flawless game from under center.

Harp finished the night completing 13 of 16 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, and went 9-for-10 in the first half with his only incompletion being a drop in the end zone.

Harp had some bad memories of Memorial Stadium, dating back to last season’s bi-district round, when the Eagles lost to Sweetwater 20-14, with Harp nursing an injured wrist and hip, and they were one-and-done in the postseason.

“It was an opportunity for him to come out and kind of overcome the issues that he dealt with last year,” Rodgers said. “For him to show up and avenge an injury-prone playoff game last year and beat Graham was a great tribute to his character and fortitude to lead our football team like that.”

The game started off horribly for the Eagles when Frizzell fumbled on the game’s third play from scrimmage to give Graham the ball at the Argyle 40-yard line.

The Eagles’ defense forced a three-and-out and took over at their 5-yard line, but on the drive’s first play, Harp fumbled the shotgun snap and an Argyle offensive lineman fell on the ball to save a touchdown and give Graham the safety.

The Steers got the ball and needed just seven plays to take an 8-0 lead after head coach Brad McCoy went for a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point.

From that point on, the Eagles’ defense stifled Graham’s balanced spread attack and was helped by a subpar effort from quarterback Case McCoy, the brother of University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.

The sophomore completed just one of 11 passes with two interceptions for minus-1 yards, leaving the Steers’ offense to rely heavily on running back Jake Holub, who finished the night with 22 carries for 126 yards and one touchdown. The Steers also lost two fumbles.

The Eagles appear to have bucked the stereotype of their team being a finesse passing team that can’t pound the ball.

Frizzell, on the other hand, is fine with that perception.

“We are a finesse passing team,” Frizzell said. “JJ can do wonders with the football and I’m there to complement the passing game. As long as we’re winning, I’m happy.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com.

Argyle 21, Graham 8

(at Memorial Stadium, Stephenville)

Argyle  7            7            0            7            --            21

Graham            8            0            0            0            --            8

Scoring summary

First Quarter

G – safety, fumbled snap in end zone, 9:06

G – Jake Holub 5 run (pass failed), 5:52

A – Brady Brown 10 pass from JJ Harp (Ben Parks kick), 3:29

Second Quarter

A – Brandon Doubek 1 run (Parks kick), 4:53

Fourth Quarter

A – Kyle Frizzell 5 run (Parks kick), 11:48

Team Statistics

            A            G

First downs            15            11

Rushing yards            35-167            40-183

Passing yards            126            -1

Total yards                        293                        182

Comp-att-int            13-16-1          1-12-2

Fumbles-lost            1-1            4-2

Punts-avg            3-30.3            4-39.5

Penalties-yds            7-40            8-65

Individual Statistics

Rushing: A – Kyle Frizzell 25-132, JJ Harp 6-23, Collin Mock 1-0, Brandon Doubek 1-1, Matt Handler 1-12, Eddie Eckert 1-(-1). G – Case McCoy 7-10, Jake Holub 22-126, Trevor Sparks 8-47, Cody Stansell 1-4, Nolan Waggoner 1-4, Team 1-(-8).

Passing: A – JJ Harp 13-16-1-126, G – Case McCoy 1-11-2-(-1), John Wright 0-1-0-0.

Receiving: A – Brady Brown 4-21, Matt Handler 3-31, Kyle Frizzell 4-35, Tyler Sweatt 1-18, Justin McGuffey 1-21. G – Hubbell Allen 1-(-1).