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Albany dominates in 50-0 win over Hamlin

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By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions were looking to clean up the mistakes that hampered them in their season opener against Dublin when they made their second outing of the season last Friday.

While there were still a couple of bumps along the way, the Lions took care of business well enough to defeat the Hamlin Pied Pipers 50-0 at Hamlin’s Piper Stadium.

First Home Game

After scheduling three road games to open the season, Albany finally gets to play its home opener at 7:00 p.m. this Friday when the Haskell Indians visit Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

Haskell (1-2) is coming off a 28-7 loss to Cross Plains.

“They’ll look a lot like us offensively,” Albany head coach Denney Faith said. “They’ll get into a two-back set sometimes, and then they’ll spread you out sometimes.”

Ticket Info

Reserved-seat season tickets are still available through the Albany High School office.

Season tickets are $30 each for the five home games.

Single-game tickets will be sold at the gate. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students.

For more ticket information, contact ticket manager Ann Riley at 325-762-3964.

Hamlin Game

Albany dominated last Friday’s game to the extent that every snap of the first quarter occurred on Hamlin’s side of the 50-yard line.

“We had 10 penalties against Dublin, and we knocked that down to four, which made a big difference,” Faith said. “We were a little cleaner and didn’t have penalties that hurt us.”

The major achievement, according to the coach, was that the Lions showed improvement despite having their Aug. 27 opener at Colorado City cancelled.

“I think we’re progressing,” he said. “We’ve still got a ton of things that we can work on, things that we can improve at, but our effort’s there. As long as we keep getting effort, all those other things will come in line and they’ll happen.”

Faith said the Lions showed enthusiasm and energy in their second outing.

“Our kids are excited about playing football right now, and we’re getting great effort out of them,” he said. “You can live with mistakes that you’re making at 100 percent. Our guys are playing hard, and that’s a positive.”

Jaheim Newton ran for three touchdowns, and quarterback Cole Chapman passed for three more as Albany improved to 2-0. Brooks Neece had scores rushing and receiving, while Adam Hill and Cooper Fairchild each had a TD reception.

Albany controlled the game throughout, rolling up 485 total yards and scoring on seven consecutive possessions. Hamlin (0-3) was held to 34 total yards and lined up to punt on eight of 11 possessions.

 “Again, we were pretty balanced,” Faith said. “We didn’t have to throw the ball that much. We only threw 10 times, completed five of them, and three were touchdowns.

 Newton rushed for 205 on just 10 carries, scoring on runs of 8, 42 and 63 yards. Chapman was 5 of 9 passing for 169 yards.

“We felt like we could run the ball because of our offensive line and because the running backs were running hard,” Faith said. “And our protection was a little better on the passing game.”

Albany controlled the line of scrimmage all night, averaging 13.5 yards per play and 12.2 yards per rushing attempt.

“We know what we’re supposed to be doing, and we executed very well,” offensive lineman Ty Everitt said. “It was great. Everybody got the job done, and we had some fun.”

Everitt added that things went much smoother than in the opener.

“We were firing on all cylinders,” he said. “It was 10 times better than the Dublin game. All we’ve got to do is just get better as we go on.”

As dominant as the Lions were offensively, the defense was no less so.

Hamlin had just two gains of more than 10 yards, but they had 10 plays that resulted in lost yardage. The Pipers averaged just 0.4 yards per rushing attempt, partly because of errant snaps.

The Pipers’ only first down of the first half came on a penalty. Their only foray into Albany territory, courtesy of a muffed punt, lasted just two plays before resulting in a turnover.

“We were able to keep them contained,” said defensive end Taren Farmer, who led the team with 8.5 total tackles, seven of them solo. “When they threw, our secondary was able to keep them from catching it.”

Albany’s first possession reached the Hamlin 15-yard line in just three plays, but a bad snap lost 20 yards. The Lions eventually turned the ball over on downs at the 26.

Faith said the Lions were able to make up for the miscue, but “we told them at halftime that we wasted a possession there, and you can really get yourself in a bind against a good team.”

After the early misfire, the Lions didn’t miss many more chances.

The only score Albany needed was set up when a bad punt snap gave the Lions possession at the Hamlin five. Neece scored two plays later on a two-yard run.

Most of the rest of the first three quarters consisted of Albany forcing Hamlin to punt and then driving for touchdowns as the Lions built a 34-0 halftime lead.

Following Hill’s catch, the Pipers had their best scoring chance when Hamlin’s Jackson White recovered a muffed punt at the Albany 22. The threat died two plays later when Hill intercepted Colton Spalding’s pass.

Neece’s touchdown reception came in the final minute of the half after Albany used two timeouts to force Hamlin to punt again. The score came on the first play of the drive.

Newton scored twice in the third quarter as the Lions pushed the lead to 48-0, and Albany’s kickoff unit set up the final points. Hill tackled Hamlin return man Isaiac Stephens at the Piper five. Two plays later, an errant snap rolled out of the end zone for a safety.

Albany used the fourth quarter to empty the bench.

“You never know when you’ll need those guys later in the season,” Faith said. “Getting them reps now in a game situation will help us.”

ALBANY HAMLIN

19 1st Downs 4

26-316 Yds Rushing 25-9

5-10 Passes Comp., Att. 8-15

1 Passes Int By 0

169 Passing Yds. 25

485 Total Yds. 34

1-38.0 Punts, Avg. 7-33.6

1 of 1 Fumbles Lost 0 of 1

4-35 Penalties, Yds. 6-45

19:48 Time of Possession 27:03

 

RUSHING: Newton 10-205, Bailey 5-55, Neece 6-34, Rosas 3-30, Chapman 1-12. RECEIVING: Neece 1-72, Hill 1-57, Fairchild 2-32, Fuentes 1-8. PASSING: Chapman 5 of 9 for 169.

Scoring Summary

Albany – Brooks Neece runs for 2-yard touchdown. PAT kick by London Fuentes good. 1st qtr - 3:52 - 7-0.

Albany – Jaheim Newton  runs for 8-yard score. PAT kick by Fuentes good. 2nd qtr - 11:49 - 14-0.

Albany – Cole Chapman pass complete to Adam Hill for 57-yard score. PAT by Fuentes good. 2nd qtr - 8:02 - 21-0.

Albany – Chapman pass to Cooper Fairchild for 19-yard TD. Kick by Fuentes good. 2nd qtr. - 2:36 - 28-0.

Albany – Chapman pass to Neece for 72-yard score. Kick no good. 2nd qtr - 0:46 - 34-0.

Albany – Newton runs for 42-yard touchdown. Kick by Fuentes good. 3rd qtr - 8:34 - 41-0.

Albany – Newton runs for 63-yard score. Kick by Fuentes good. 3rd qtr - 1:14 - 48-0.

Albany – Hamlin fumbles out of end zone. 3rd qtr - 0:13 - 50-0.