Cubs defeat separate opponents
By Sam Waller
The Albany Junior High Cubs football teams returned from their open date with a pair of home victories over different opponents last week.
The Cubs return to action Thursday, Oct. 13 (tonight), at Cross Plains. The seventh grade kicks off at 4:30 p.m. with the eighth grade and junior varsity games to follow.
On Thursday, Oct. 6, the seventh grade Cubs held off Anson 22-14, while the eighth grade downed Miles 22-12.
Seventh Grade
Clay Chapman ran for two touchdowns, while the Cub defense made a game-clinching stand in the final minutes.
Bennett Neece scored Albany’s first TD on a 17-yard run, and Chapman added scoring runs of 1 and 9 yards. Jakobi Word ran for a conversion and Chapman passed to Neece for another.
Albany gained 231 total yards. Chapman rushed for 126 yards and was 2 of 3 passing for 31 yards. Neece added 41 rushing yards, while Word finished with 33 rushing yards. Graham Ceder caught a pass for 18 yards and Aiden Vickers had a 13-yard reception.
“Offensively, all three backs – Word, Neece, and Chapman – ran hard,” coach David Fairchild said. “Aiden Vickers and Graham Ceder had nice catches. The offensive line – Cash Edgar, Jordan Knight, Hunter Sutton, Ryder Smith, Senio Togia, and Ceder – had a good night.”
Albany held Anson to 173 total yards, 154 of it on the ground. The Cubs led 22-6 at halftime, but the Tigers opened the third quarter with a long scoring drive, then recovered an Albany fumble on the next series and drove to the Albany 19 before being held on downs.
“Defensively, Chapman and Neece played well,” Fairchild said. “Aiden Vickers, Ace Vickers, and Ryder Smith had some nice tackles.”
Eighth Grade
Jack Nail ran for two touchdowns, and Wesley Gleitz added the clinching touchdown and conversion in the last two minutes as the eighth grade Cubs held on.
Albany finished with 253 total yards. Nail rushed for 119 yards and caught four passes for 83 yards. Gleitz was 4 of 6 passing and added 23 rushing yards, while Zane Green rushed for 33 yards.
“Offensively, we moved the ball well; we just had too many turnovers that killed drives,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “I felt like we could have put up a couple more touchdowns on those drives to put this game away earlier. Jack, Wesley, and Zane all ran the ball well. Wesley also connected with Jack on two big pass plays, one for a touchdown and one that converted a third down.”
Miles scored on its opening drive, but Nail scored on a 25-yard run with 3:13 left in the second quarter. Gleitz ran for the conversion to give Albany an 8-6 halftime lead.
Nail scored on a 34-yard pass from Gleitz midway through the third quarter after Judson Rogers intercepted a pass. Miles answered the touchdown and recovered an onside kick, but the Albany defense held. Rogers added a fumble recovery to help keep the Bulldogs at bay before Gleitz’s 2-yard TD run and conversion with 1:57 to go gave the Cubs a 10-point lead.
Miles finished with 136 total yards, 125 of it through the air. The Bulldogs attempted 25 passes, but completed just two of their last 11.
“Defensively, our secondary got tested early,” Peacock said. “We gave up a few big plays, but we finally settled in and were able to eliminate any big plays late in the game. I thought Britton Farmer played an outstanding game on the outside, as he had several pass breakups and tackles.”
