Cubs perform well in first outing
By Sam Waller
Albany Junior High School football teams opened their seasons last Thursday against Dublin.
The Cubs eighth grade team won 40-8, while the seventh grade engaged in a controlled scrimmage with Albany posting a 3-0 scoring advantage.
In the eighth grade game, Shawn Keen and Huffman Heatly each scored two touchdowns. Mason McCloy had an interception, and Brodey Oliver recovered a fumble on defense.
“The Cubs had a good first outing,” eighth grade coach David Fairchild said.
Lane Helle opened the scoring with a 50-yard touchdown run on Albany’s first possession. Keen ran for the two-point conversion.
McCloy’s interception set up a 19-yard scoring run by Keen. Heatly added the conversion run to give Albany a 24-0 halftime lead.
Heatly ran for a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Calhan Fairchild ran for the conversion.
Following Dublin’s score in the fourth quarter, Heatly returned the kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown. Keen ran for the conversion to wrap up the scoring.
“I thought we had a good first outing,” David Fairchild said. “I felt our backs – Helle, Keen, Heatly, Fairchild, and Breylon Billington – ran well. Defensively Keen, Helle, Heatly, Oliver, and Fairchild made some big plays.”
In the seventh grade scrimmage, each team had three possessions, running 12 plays followed by two 10-play series.
“This was the first time we have done that here for the seventh grade,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “I felt it was very beneficial as we were able to get everyone a good feel for the game.”
Albany’s Jack Nail and Wesley Gleitz both had big runs for touchdowns. Colter Edgar added the third score on a pass from Gleitz.
“Christian Hernandez and Zane Green also got opportunities to run during this scrimmage, and both did a good job carrying the ball,” Peacock said. “I saw some good things from the offensive line. We have things to continue to build on, but we are attacking, which is what I like to see early in the season.”
Peacock said the defense played well, not allowing any scores.
“We have to get better at tackling, but I was happy to see us getting to the ball as a team,” he said. “We had a few guys stand out on defense – Judson Rogers and Zane Green made several plays during the defensive set.”
Both Cubs’ teams are scheduled to play Hamlin on Thursday (today) at Nail Stadium. The seventh grade will start at 4:00 p.m. with the eighth grade and junior varsity games to follow, although Hamlin may not be able to field a JV team.
