Cubs open season with wins over Dublin
By Sam Waller
The Albany Junior High Cubs opened their 2022 football schedule Thursday, Sept. 1, with a pair of victories over Dublin at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.
The seventh grade rallied to win 16-14, while the eighth grade led all the way in winning 32-8.
The junior high teams play at home again this week, taking on Seymour on Thursday, Sept. 8. The seventh grade game will start at 4:30 p.m. with the eighth grade to follow.
Seventh Grade
Clay Chapman threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Word to tie the score and then ran for the go-ahead conversion with 40 seconds left as Albany converted on a last-chance drive in the final minutes.
“This was a good first win for the seventh grade,” coach David Fairchild said. “We were down late and got the ball back and found a way to come back and fight.”
Fairchild said it was a good performance overall.
“There’s a lot of learning still to be done, but for their first game, I was pleased,” he said.
Word, who rushed for 17 yards on three carries, scored both Albany touchdowns, capping the opening drive with a 5-yard run after Graham Ceder returned the kickoff 25 yards to the Dublin 45.
Chapman was 2 of 5 passing for 75 yards, rushed five times for 35 yards, and had 69 yards on two kickoff returns. He ran for the conversion after both touchdowns.
Bennett Neece added 28 yards rushing, and Aiden Vickers had one reception for 36 yards to set up the first score.
Albany gained 154 total yards on 19 plays.
“Offensively, Chapman, Word, Neece, and Vickers had some nice plays,” Fairchild said. “Up front, Graham Ceder and Hunter Sutton had a good night.”
Dublin gained 147 total yards, most of it from tailback Kyler Gaitan, who scored on runs of 6 and 15 yards.
Albany’s Slayten Kelly intercepted two passes to stop Dublin drives.
“Slayten had a big night,” Fairchild said. “Jakobi Word, Ace Vickers and Senio Togia also played well defensively.”
Eighth Grade
Zane Green and Wesley Gleitz each scored two touchdowns, and Jack Nail added the fifth as Albany was in control from the start.
“For their first time out, the guys did a great job overall on both sides of the ball,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “This was a good start for us as we begin a tough non-district schedule, and it gives us some things to work on as we move forward.”
Green rushed for 59 yards on three carries, scoring TDs of 9 and 23 yards to help Albany take a 12-0 lead in the first quarter. He also ran for a conversion in the second half.
Gleitz scored the next two TDs with a 30-yard fumble return and a 53-yard run. He rushed for 64 yards on three carries and was 2 of 4 passing for 12 yards.
Nail finished with 141 yards on four carries, closing the scoring with a 90-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Colter Edgar added 13 rushing yards on three carries and caught a pass for 14 yards.
Albany finished with 288 total yards, 276 of it rushing.
“Offensively, our run game really took over the game,” Peacock said. “We had six different kids carry the ball for us and each of them ran the ball effectively. All of this, of course, starts with the front six, who came off the ball and cleared the way.”
Dublin was held to 73 total yards, including minus-2 rushing. Green had a sack, and Judson Rogers broke up a pass on defense.
