Cubs open season with shutout wins
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Albany Cubs opened the season with a pair of shutout wins in Dublin last week.
The teams will travel to Hamlin this Thursday (today) for the next bouts, with the seventh graders playing Wylie East’s seventh graders at Hamlin starting at 4:00 p.m.
The eighth grade Cubs will line up against Hamlin’s junior high team at 5:00 p.m., followed by the JV game at about 6:30 p.m.
The eighth grade defeated Dublin 40-0 last week.
Quarterback Branson Beal hit Andre Gjerpe with a 55-yard pass play for the first Cub tally. Ashton Bailey scored the two-pointer.
The Cubs scored a second touchdown on a 20-yard run by Bailey to push the lead to 14-0. The two-point attempt failed.
Landon Balliew recovered a Dublin fumble to set up the next score. Bailey broke a 30-yard run for the score, then he ran in the two-pointer.
Next, Bailey intercepted a pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The two-pointer failed.
Ethan Green set up the next Cub touchdown with a fumble recovery.
Beal scored on a 18-yard run. The conversion failed.
The final score came on a 45-yard run by Dalton Richards, and Bailey scored the two-point play to end the game at 40-0.
The seventh grade blanked Dublin 26-0.
The first touchdown was scored on a long run by Lane Helle. Quarterback Brody Oliver passed to Calhan Fairchild for the conversion.
Helle scored again in the second quarter to push the lead to 14-0 at the half. The two-pointer failed.
In the third quarter, Oliver hit Huffman Heatly with a long touchdown pass to bump the lead to 20-0. The conversion attempt failed.
Calhan Fairchild scored the final tally with a run up the middle. The two-point play failed.
On defense, Mason McCloy had an interception, and corners Cade Fairchild and Woods Peterson were praised for their defensive play.
“This was a good start for our young guys,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “We were anxious to see how well they tackled, and I thought they did a good job overall.”
The coach added that the offense was successful, and he hopes to build on that success this week.
