“Prayers of

Thanksgiving”

This week marks one year at The Albany News. Where in the world did that time go? The older I get, the faster it seems to move. I know, I know—some old-timer is already shaking his head saying, “Wait, kid, it only gets faster.” And I believe it. I’m just starting to fully grasp how fast it’s going by.

For the first time in school history, the Albany Lions completed district play without allowing a single point, defeating Hamlin 33-0 on Friday night to claim the outright District 6-2A Division II championship.

For Brian Woodyard, the rush of a wrestling crowd never really goes away. Once the walk-out music hits — in his case, “Blood” by Dropkick Murphys — he says it all comes back like riding a bike. That was the feeling Saturday, Nov. 1, when he stepped through the curtain at the DoubleTree Hilton in Abilene and returned to the ring for the first time in two years.

Woodyard is known in the wrestling world as Conor Murphy, the Pub Rat — an Irish-accented brawler with a catchphrase ready for any challenger: “I’m serving up a pint of beatdown.”