Lions claim district with win over Santo
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions expected their toughest test of the season from the Santo Wildcats.
They got it and passed with flying colors.
Jaheim Newton and Brooks Neece each rushed for two touchdowns last Friday as the Lions defeated Santo 33-6 at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium, clinching the District 8-2A Division II championship – Albany’s 13th district title in 14 years.
Santo held Albany to a season-low scoring output and became the first team to outscore the Lions in a quarter this season. The Wildcats trailed 20-6 early in the fourth quarter and were driving to make it a one-possession game before the Lions pulled away.
“Santo’s got a good football team,” Albany head coach Denney Faith said. “I think it was a good game for us, especially right here at the end of the regular season getting ready to go into the playoffs. I thought our kids responded well to a well-coached, hard-nosed, physical football team.”
Faith said being able to match Santo’s physicality was a key factor for Albany.
“The offensive line played great, and all our running backs ran hard,” he said. “We were efficient in the passing game when we needed to be and picked up a couple of key first downs in the passing game.”
Offensive lineman Monte Cauble said the physical nature of the game made the victory that much more enjoyable.
“It was probably the most fun game I’ve ever played,” he said, calling Santo’s defensive line the best the Lions have faced. “That’s the most action I’ve had in a long time. I was having the time of my life out there.”
The Wildcats came out swinging, recovering the opening kickoff and moving to the Albany 26-yard line before Cooper Fairchild recovered a fumble on the fourth play of the game, the first of four Santo turnovers. Albany converted two of the takeaways into scores, starting with Newton’s first TD to cap a seven-play drive.
“That was a big turnover,” Faith said. “Then we had a good, crisp drive right after, took the ball right down the field and scored. I really felt like that set the tone for the game.”
Fairchild, who also led Albany in receiving, said preparation was the key to withstanding the Wildcats’ initial challenge.
“We had two weeks to prepare, and we prepared pretty hard,” he said. “We’re hoping for a deep run in the playoffs. This will be better for us.”
Albany (8-0 overall, 3-0 district) finished with 400 total yards, getting 286 on the ground. Newton finished with 184 yards on 17 carries in his first district outing after sitting out two games with an ankle injury.
Santo (8-1, 2-1) gained 231 total yards, the most Albany has allowed since the season opener against Dublin, but the Wildcats couldn’t consistently cash in despite reaching Albany territory on seven of 11 possessions.
Sam Henderson led the Wildcats with 135 yards rushing, getting 54 on one play. Santo quarterback Case Proctor added 53 yards rushing and was 4 of 11 passing for 41 yards with three interceptions.
“Against that offense with the types of backs they have – big and physical and strong – and they have a physical offensive line, too, I thought we stood up really well against the thing they do best,” Faith said. “We kept them out of the end zone all night except when they had a short field.”
Neece and Coy Lefevre each had 6.5 tackles with 1.5 for loss to lead the Lion defense. Ryan Mark added six tackles, while Taren Farmer had 5.5 with two sacks. In addition to Fairchild’s fumble recovery, Adam Hill, Robert Bailey, and Lefevre had interceptions.
Neece said it took a few plays to adjust to the speed of Santo’s attack.
“Once we did that, we were able to shut them down,” he said. “We had great calls by our coordinator, and it was a group effort.”
Albany scored on three of its first four possessions to lead 20-0 at halftime.
Penalties bogged the Lions down in the third quarter. Albany faced third-and-20 and third-and-30 on its two possessions.
Santo’s lone score was set up by a mishandled punt snap that gave the Wildcats possession at the Albany 13-yard line. It took five plays before Procter scored on a 1-yard sneak to cut Albany’s lead to 20-6.
Bailey’s interception ended any hopes of the Wildcats getting any closer. Four plays later and one play after a spectacular 11-yard scoring run by Chapman was negated by a penalty, the junior quarterback connected with Fairchild for a 26-yard score and a 21-point lead.
After another scoring drive, Lefevre’s interception allowed the Lions to run out the clock on Faith’s 18th district championship.
Facing Cross Plains
The Lions close out the regular season at 7:00 p.m. Friday at Cross Plains.
Both teams are in an unusual situation in that the district’s playoff seeds are locked in, but Faith said that doesn’t render the game meaningless.
“We spent two hard weeks getting ready for Santo and spent a lot of energy,” Faith said. “I think a lot of the battle this week is going to be with ourselves, making sure we don’t come out and not perform the way we could because we put so much effort into the last game. We’ve got to put that one behind us and finish up our district race on a high note.”
The Buffaloes (5-3, 1-2) have clinched the fourth playoff seed. Cross Plains had an open date last week.
“Cross Plains is throwing the ball more than they have in the past,” Faith said. “They’re young, but they have some very good, talented athletes. They’re always a really aggressive team defensively, so we’re going to have to make sure we’re on our toes because they like to do some exotic things.”
Ticket Info
All tickets for Friday’s game will be sold at the gate. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students.
