By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions were handed their biggest challenge of the season last Thursday by the Olney Cubs in their Class 2A Division II area playoff at Graham.

The Lions responded with a strong second half to pull away for a 32-10 victory over a team it pummeled 55-6 seven weeks earlier.

Regional Playoff

Albany, ranked fourth in the state, gets an even bigger test in the third round, taking on No. 2 Muenster at Porcupine Field in Springtown Friday at 2:00 p.m. The Hornets (12-0) advanced with a 63-24 victory over Seymour.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions junior varsity boys basketball team tipped off its season Saturday with a 34-4 home victory over Roby.

The game was the only one at the high school level last week for Albany after the Lady Lions pulled out of their tournament.

The Lions opened the game with an 11-0 run and were in control the rest of the way.

“It was a starting point, and that’s what we talked about in the locker room before the game,” Albany coach Ryder Peacock said. “The goal was to get up and down the floor, run some transitions.”

By Melinda L. Lucas

Tickets for Friday’s regional semifinal football playoff against Muenster, to be played at 2:00 p.m.  in Springtown’s Porcupine Stadium, must be purchased online by going to springtownisd.net/Page/12001 or following the link on the Albany Athletic Booster Club’s Facebook page. 

Passes will be accepted, but no tickets will be sold at the gate, according to Springtown officials.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions got their basketball season off to a belated start Monday with a 52-21 loss to Ballinger.

The Lady Lions were originally scheduled to host Guthrie, but coach Tate Thompson said his team gained more by taking on the Class 3A Lady Bearcats.

“We needed to see our mistakes exposed, and teams like Ballinger are going to show that,” he said. “That gives us an idea of what we need to work on. If we play somebody and are able to get away with mistakes, that’s not helping us get better.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Lady Cubs Red team suffered a 39-21 loss to Cisco on Monday in its first home game of the season.

Braylee Clark and Amber Miramontes each scored six points to lead the team in scoring, while Mimi Ivy added four points. Madison Parrott and Caroline Chapman each had two points and Zayne Lefevre had one.

The Lady Cubs White and Red teams will host Hawley on Monday, Nov. 29. The first game will start at 5:30 p.m.

Eighth Grade Boys

The Cubs eighth grade team went on the road Monday and defeated Cisco 22-15.

By Sam Waller

The Moran FFA meat judging team recently finished 10th  at a contest  at Texas Tech.

Moran had the best finish among teams from the Big Country District and was second among Area IV teams behind Seymour.

Team members were Cotten Campbell, Allen Hebel, Ellis Hise, Johnnie Hise and Hannah Rogers.

By Sam Waller

Moran’s Johnnie Hise’s sewing ability resulted in a blue ribbon at the West Texas Fair and Rodeo in September, and the product of that effort will soon be making an appearance at public events in Strawn.

Susan Hurley of Strawn, formerly of Moran and Albany, purchased material and a sewing pattern in 2019 for a Mrs. Santa costume from Cheryl Whitmore. Whitmore and her husband, Mike, were in the process of moving from Albany to Maine.

James Vernon Martin was born Nov. 22, 1931, near the community of Duffau, Texas, in the southeast part of Erath County to Lanham Martin and Anna Jones Martin.

James grew up on the Overton Ranch which is a division of the Lambshead Ranch near Albany, TX. Upon graduating high school at Albany, he entered Texas Tech and studied Agriculture. During his senior year at Tech, James was drafted into the Army and served from Nov. 23, 1952, until Oct. 28, 1954, attaining the rank of Sgt-E5. He was in the Combat Engineers.

By Melinda L. Lucas

There was no public comment at a special hearing last Friday morning, and Shackelford County commissioners moved forward with the process of redistricting the precincts in order to “equalize” populations within the four areas.

Since there was more than a 10% deviation between Pcts. 2 and 4, that’s where most of the changes will occur, with several blocks between Breckenridge St. and East South 1st St. moving from 3 to 1, and a fairly large area around the Albany Golf Course changing from 4 to 2.

By Sam Waller

The Aztec Theater will take a break from its renovation project Saturday night so that local performers can host Troubadour – Songs of the Singer-Songwriter.

The program will start at 7:00 p.m. Pam Davis will narrate.

Admission is $15 per person. Tickets will be sold at the door and may be paid with cash or check. Credit cards will not be accepted.

Organizer Sandy Abel said about a dozen local musicians will perform songs from a wide range of genres.