Cubs bring home 1 win, 1 tie
The Albany Cubs came home with a win and a tie against the Haskell Warriors last Thursday.
Games were moved to Graham’s artificial turf stadium after local heavy rains soaked Nail Stadium.
The seventh graders will play a rematch against Haskell on Thursday (today) starting at 4:00 p.m. in Haskell.
The eighth grade Cubs will travel to Hamlin for a 5:00 p.m. game as scheduled. Hamlin only has one junior high team, causing coaches to seek out another seventh grade game to end the season.
Cubs vs. Haskell
The seventh grade Cubs posted a 16-0 win over Haskell last week.
After holding the Warriors on their first drive, Albany moved the ball down the field for the first touchdown. Just as the first period was ending, Cason Fairchild connected with Lute Wheeler for the tally. Fairchild hit Lanxton Viertel for the two-point play.
The Cubs scored again on a pass from Fairchild to Houston Heatly from 15 yards out. Adam Hill caught the conversion pass from Fairchild to tack on the final two points of the game.
“One of the biggest moments of the game came with five seconds left in the first half when the Cubs got a first down and spiked the ball to stop the clock,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “With less than a second left before the half, the guys got the touchdown and conversion to lead 16-0 at the half.”
The coach said the second half was a battle back and forth as both teams held the other out of the end zone.
Peacock said that the team practices for situations like the final second play of the second quarter.
“The guys did a good job of getting lined up, spiking the ball, and executing the final scoring play,” the coach said.
The coach also praised the defensive effort.
“I thought our guys did a good job of stretching their offense and not letting them get downhill,” he said. “We made some big tackles on third down and played with a lot of discipline. This was a big win for the guys.”
The eighth grade battled to a 20-20 tie in Graham.
“The Cubs fought hard and came away with a tie,” coach Richard Sullivan said. “It was exciting to say the least, with both teams scoring in the final two seconds of the game. It was apparent neither team was going out without a fight.”
Samuel Rosas scored on a five-yard run to open the scoring for Albany. The two-point attempt failed.
The Cubs increased the lead to 14-0 with a 20-yard run by Caden Price, followed by a two-point run by London Fuentes.
After Haskell tied the game up at 14-14, Fuentes hit Price with a five-yard pass for the touchdown with just a couple of seconds on the board. The conversion failed.
The Warriors took the ensuing kickoff back for the tying touchdown, but left the game in a tie when the conversion attempt failed.
Defensive standouts for the Cubs were Keatin Russell, Andrew Leverton, and Rosas. Getting the nod from the coach on offense were Price, Fuentes and Cole Chapman.
