Albany dominates in semifinal game
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions took a step that they’ve been waiting a year for, atoning for last season’s loss in the Class 2A Division II state semifinals, by beating New Home 53-25 on Thursday, Dec. 8 at Sweetwater’s Mustang Bowl.
The Lions turned in another dominating performance in atoning for 2021’s 35-14 loss to Stratford, scoring touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions.
The sixth-ranked Lions (13-2) advanced to the state championship game against No. 1 Mart (15-0) on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. Results will be reported next week.
It is the eighth time in school history the Lions have played for a state title, the fifth under head coach Denney Faith. Albany last reached the final round in 2015.
“It took a great effort by our kids,” Faith said. “We’ve been challenging them all year long with things they’ve got to get done to advance, and they’ve been up to the challenges.”
For senior Coy Lefevre, who missed last year’s semifinal because of injury, it was a case of taking care of unfinished business.
“It took a lot of hard work, a lot of hours, a lot of sweat,” he said. “It was disappointing going out in the fifth round last year, but this year is different, a different result.”
Faith moved into a tie for fifth place on the Texas high school football career coaching wins list with 343, all at Albany, according to records kept by texasfootballhistory.com. Faith moved past Dennis Alexander (340 at five schools) with Albany’s regional win over Wink and pulled even with Jim Streety (New Braunfels and San Antonio Madison) last week. Next on the list is Gordon Wood at 393.
Against New Home, Cole Chapman passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third, while Lefevre, Adam Hill, and Samuel Rosas each scored two touchdowns as the Lions raced past the Leopards (13-2).
Chapman suffered his first interception of the season, but finished 12 of 17 passing for 210 yards. He also rushed for 48 yards as Albany finished with 522 total yards.
In its last two playoff games, Albany has generated 119 points and 1,181 total yards.
“We played really efficiently,” Faith said. “The offensive line protected and blocked well, the backs ran hard, and Cole made some really good decisions on his reads. I mean, 500-plus yards in a playoff game; you’ve got to be really pleased with that.”
Hill rushed for 114 yards and a score as well as catching two passes for 45 yards. Lefevre finished with 97 yards rushing, joining Hill in going over 1,000 yards for the season despite missing four games. He also had three receptions for 26 yards.
Branson Beal had three receptions for 32 yards and a score, with Cason Fairchild catching two passes for 65 yards.
The Albany defense held another high-octane offense below its season average, allowing New Home 348 total yards. Leopards quarterback Brazos Beck accounted for 300 of that, passing for 227 and rushing for 73. The junior threw for two TDs and ran for a third.
“The last three teams we’ve played (Wink, Collinsville, and New Home) have had outstanding offenses and have been able to score points on people all year long,” Faith said. “Our defense has created turnovers and made some big plays at big times. I think those guys are playing outstanding defense.”
Wyatt Windham led the Lions with 11 total tackles and broke up three passes, two of which were intercepted by teammates. Lefevre added nine total tackles and Koy Cauble had seven, including a sack. Cole Chapman and Tyler Chapman had the interceptions, while Keatin Russell recovered a fumble.
Rosas, who had five total tackles, said the defensive success against potent attacks comes down to preparation.
“I think we’ve had great game plans for all those offenses we’ve had to face,” he said. “The main thing for New Home was stopping the pass while also focusing on the run. We knew they could throw it deep and make a lot of big plays. We tried to shut that down the best we could.”
Beck was 18 of 25 passing. In the last three rounds, the Albany secondary has faced 97 passes and 129 during five postseason games. Only Muenster (11) attempted fewer than 20 passes.
Russell, who was in on two tackles and broke up a pass, said knowing what’s coming is a big part of the battle.
“In practice, we’re always working on routes so we’ll know what kind of routes opponents run,” he said. “Knowing they’re more than likely going to pass it makes it easier to defend.”
The one sour note for the Lions was an injury to senior London Fuentes, who leads the team in receiving yards and interceptions (tied with Fairchild) as well handling place kicking and kick return duties. The senior suffered a sprained ankle on the opening drive, finishing with one reception for 5 yards.
Fuentes’ absence contributed to Albany making just one of six conversion kicks to go along with a pair of two-point conversions. Fuentes missed on his one attempt before spending the second half on the sideline in street clothes. Junior Zane Waggoner, who has handled punts and kickoffs, was thrust into the PAT role for the first time in his career.
The Lions were able to maintain their level of play without Fuentes, something Faith said the team has learned by doing this season.
“Our kids have been able to adjust to those situations all year long,” he said. “I think that’s a tribute to their attention to detail during practices to where we can ‘next man up’ and keep playing.”
To that end, Fairchild had catches of 44 and 21 yards to spark scoring drives. Windham gained 37 yards on his first reception since the bi-district round to set up another score. Beal had a 21-yard reception and a pinballing 32-yard run on which it seemed he eluded every New Home defender, leading to two more scores. Hill pirouetted in full stride along the sideline to evade tacklers during a 37-yard reception that was followed on the next play by Lefevre’s second TD.
“It’s extremely important for people to step up and make plays so you can win games, especially a playoff game in the fifth round,” Windham said. “It just creates momentum to go score the touchdown that we needed.”
Such situations are nothing new for Albany. Both Cole Chapman and Lefevre have missed four games because of health issues this year, while Waggoner has missed two, including the state quarterfinal against Collinsville.
“We’ve had some injuries, things you have to work your way around and work your way through,” Faith said. “It’s a tribute to the kids that they’ve been able to do that.”
It’s the latest in a long list of adversity Faith’s state finalists have had to deal with, from heavy flooding on the way to the 1991 game to multiple losses of family members in 2015 and another as recently as last week.
Faith said the players’ intelligence allows them to cope with such events while still being prepared to play.
“Their attention and the way they prepare during the week allows us to do that,” he said.
And Faith believes enduring such matters is one reason Albany is again playing for a title.
“I think the adversity has done nothing but made us better,” he said. “We’ve been telling the guys the last few weeks that they’ve earned this – it isn’t something somebody’s given them – so they should take advantage of it. They’ve done the things to put themselves in position to play for a state championship. They should embrace that and enjoy it.”
