Jr. high teams cruise to wins over Buffaloes

The Albany Junior High Cubs football teams scored on offense, defense, and special teams Thursday, Oct. 12 in cruising to big wins over Cross Plains. The seventh grade won 40-12 and the eighth grade won 42-0.

The Cubs take to the road today(Oct.19)withgamesat Roscoe, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Seventh Grade

Lyle Wheeler accounted for 129 total yards and had a hand in 34 points. Wheeler was5of7passingfor89yards and two TDs, rushed for 40 yards and a score, and had a punt return for a TD.

Blake Britting caught threepassesfor56yards,and added three TDs, two receiving and one rushing. Slayton Parsons rushed for 48.

Albany gained 185 total, holding Cross Plains to 53.

Wheelercappedtheopening drive with a 20-yard run and passed to Britting for the conversion.After a Cross Plains score, Britting pulled in an 11-yard TD pass from Wheeler, who then hit Sam Tidwell for the conversion to give the Cubs a 16-6 lead.

That started a run in which Albany scored three times in less than four minutes. Wheeler’s57-yardpunt return and Parsons’PAT run made it 24-6. Trevor Bellah then recovered a fumble and Wheeler found Britting for a 31-yard score on the next play. Wheeler ran for the conversion to give the Cubs a 32-6 halftime lead.

CrossPlainsscoredonthe first snap of the third quarter to make it 32-12. Britting crossed the line on a 3-yard run, and Wheeler passed to Bellah for two points to wrap up the scoring with 2:08 left.

Eighth Grade

The eighth grade struck for several big plays with the shortest of six touchdowns covering 34 yards.

The Cubs piled up 308 total yards while allowing 115. Jakobi Roberson rushed for 95andClayChapmanthrew for107on3of4passing.Bennett Neece accounted for 158 yards rushing and receiving.

Albany needed just two plays for the clinching touchdown asNeeceraced56yards down the right sideline. The Cubs’ next drive ended with a fumble, but the defense forced a punt that Chapman returned 49 yards to score.

Rush Kidd recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Roberson scored two plays later on a 43-yard run. Aiden Vickers then passed to Chapman for the conversion and a 20-0 lead. Vickers returned an interception 55 yardsforaTD,andChapman passed to Neece for two.

A fumble recovery by Roberson led to Chapman’s 34-yard TD run. Vickers passed to Chapman on the conversion for a 36-0 lead.

With a running clock in the second half, each team had just two possessions. Slayten Kelly’s fumble recovery at the Albany 2-yard line late in the third quarter preserved the shutout.

Then, Neece scored on a 98-yard pass play.