Albany to face Collinsville in quarterfinals
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions found a way to make plays when needed Saturday, Nov. 26 to defeat the No. 4 Wink Wildcats 35-18 in a Class 2A Division II regional playoff at San Angelo Stadium.
The No. 6 Lions (11-2) advance to the state quarterfinals to take on the No. 7 Collinsville Pirates at 7:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Ram Stadium in Mineral Wells.
Saturday’s game was pushed back a day because snow and ice in the Permian Basin made travel conditions unsafe for Wink on Friday.
“The kids played hard,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “Both teams played exceptionally hard. It was two good football teams going at each other, and when you get this deep in the playoffs, that’s the way it ought to be.”
While Albany never trailed and held a 10-point lead with less than four minutes to go, the situation grew tense as Wink drove to the Lions’ 3-yard line. Wildcats running back Hudson Morgan crossed the goal line, but not before Albany linebacker Coy Lefevre forced a fumble that defensive tackle Tyler Chapman recovered at the 1.
“We’ve created a lot of turnovers in the red zone or have been able to hold people on fourth down,” Faith said. “Our red zone defense has been very good this year.”
The Lions still weren’t out of the woods three plays later, facing third-and-6 from the 5. Lefevre limped off after second down, and punter Zane Waggoner had been sidelined with an elbow injury.
Quarterback Cole Chapman kept to the right side, but was hit short of the first down and fumbled. Things went Albany’s way when Branson Beal scooped the ball up at the 14 and raced 86 yards down the right sideline to complete a 95-yard touchdown with 3:05 remaining.
“Every now and then, the ball bounces your way,” Faith said. “We’ll take it every time.”
For Beal, there was no time to do anything but react.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Beal said. “It was crazy. I was just lucky, I guess.”
The sophomore outraced defenders with an escort from London Fuentes.
“I was just hoping not to get caught,” Beal said. “I heard someone behind me, and luckily it was London.”
Cole Chapman passed for three touchdowns in the first half to stake the Lions to a 21-6 lead and ran for a fourth to answer Wink’s first touchdown of the second half and push the lead to 28-12. The senior finished 10 of 20 passing for 128 yards and was Albany’s leading rusher with 91 yards on 12 carries as the Lions finished with 338 total yards.
“It was a defensive battle to start,” the quarterback said. “We got on offense, and the linemen blocked well up front. We saw some open gaps and took them.”
Beal finished with 102 scrimmage yards, including 88 rushing yards thanks to his fumble recovery.
Lefevre and Adam Hill were kept in check running the ball, combining for 32 yards on 15 carries, but they made up for it with their production as receivers. Hill caught three passes for 72 yards, and Lefevre one for 12. Both had touchdown receptions.
Fuentes added three catches for 17 yards and a score in addition to making impact plays on defense and special teams. He intercepted Wink quarterback Kanon Gibson twice and had 109 yards on kickoff returns to help set up two Albany scores.
“Everything was working right, our secondary and pass rush,” Fuentes said. “The defensive backs staying on coverage allows our defensive line to get to the quarterback. Once we do our job, everyone gets it done.”
The Lions allowed Wink 370 total yards with Gibson accounting for 293. He was 17 of 24 passing for 185 yards and two TDs while rushing for 108 yards and a score on 25 carries.
The Albany defense stayed busy all afternoon, forcing five turnovers, recording six sacks and turning Wink away twice in the red zone.
Wyatt Windham led the Lions with 16 total tackles, and Samuel Rosas was in on 10. Koy Cauble made nine total tackles, Fuentes eight, and Hill seven, including three for loss with two sacks and two forced fumbles.
“We needed to stop their quarterback, keep him contained,” Cauble said. “It’s easier to make tackles on a good team than against one that can’t do anything. When they get past the second level, you’ve got to step up and make a tackle.”
Fuentes said even with a comfortable lead, the Lions had to keep the pressure on.
“It’s the third round of the playoffs, and we’re not going to let down no matter what the score is,” he said. “We know anything can happen. We go in and adjust, and see what we can do better to put more points on the board and run away with it.”
Albany had a chance to take the lead right away when Fuentes returned the opening kickoff 64 yards to the Wink 18, but Cole Chapman was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1. However, the Lions benefitted from the advantage in field position, taking Wink’s punt at the Wildcat 34 and covering the distance in six plays as Chapman and Lefevre connected for a 12-yard score.
Wink responded in two plays as Gibson found Braden Denton all alone for a 49-yard strike, but the PAT failed to leave the Lions in front.
Albany took control on its next two possessions. Chapman connected with Fuentes from 6 yards out and Hill from 41, the latter set up by Fuentes’ first interception.
Fuentes stopped Wink’s next drive with another interception at the Albany 5-yard line, but his 95-yard return was negated by a penalty.
The Wildcats battled back in the third quarter, opening the half with a 13-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard dive, but Morgan was stopped short on the two-point try.
Albany needed just 27 seconds to answer. Fuentes returned the kickoff 45 yards to the Wink 31 and Chapman kept around the left side on the next play to score.
“Whenever they score like that, you can’t put your head down,” Chapman said. “You’ve got to keep pushing, and we did.”
The play was Albany’s only offensive snap of the period as Wink put together another long drive. Gibson hit Brandon Peters for a 9-yard score with four seconds left in the quarter, but another two-point play failed.
“Wink used a lot of clock in the third quarter,” Faith said. “I think that’s the result of us playing really hard, playing really well, making some plays when we had to. We got five turnovers that were all very important.”
Albany ran off nearly five minutes to start the fourth quarter before losing the ball on downs at the Wink 23, the third Lion possession to end on downs inside the Wildcat 25.
After Beal’s touchdown, the Lion defense added the final nail in Wink’s coffin when Jayden Lucas forced Gibson to fumble and Cauble recovered at the Albany 46 with 1:29 to go.
“That just got me fired up ready to go to the next round,” Cauble said.
Facing Collinsville
While the Pirates (12-1) are a new opponent for Albany, they have beaten several teams familiar to the Lions.
Collinsville won District 8-2A Division II, which included Muenster, Santo, and Era. The Pirates’ playoff run includes wins against Haskell (21-7 in bi-district) and Windthorst (32-28 in regional). Muenster, which Collinsville beat 25-13 on Oct. 28, is the only common opponent between the teams this season, but Albany played the other four teams last season.
The Pirates possess an explosive offense that averages 439.6 total yards (194.2 rushing, 245.5 passing) and 40.5 points per game.
“They play a hurry-up style offense,” Faith said. “They’re going to snap the ball with at least 15 seconds on the play clock. They try to play fast.”
And that puts pressure on opposing defenses.
“You’ve got to be prepared,” Faith said. “They’re not going to allow us to make substitutions, And we’ll have to be on our toes.”
Pirate quarterback Logan Jenkins is 254 of 379 passing for 3,183 yards and 43 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. Nathen Bocanegra (75-854, 10 TDs) and Carter Scott (63-1,125, 11 TDs) head a deep receiving corps. Running back Rylan Newman has rushed for 1,275 yards and 13 TDs.
“They’re going to throw it quite a bit,” Faith said. “Their quarterback can sling it around pretty good, and they’ve got some really good receivers. They run the ball well, also.”
A big issue facing the Lions is getting over the last game on a short week.
“It was a very physical game and we’ve got one less day to heal this week,” Faith said. “We’ll be real careful during practice and try to give everybody plenty of rest, but still put a game plan together.”
