Cubs split games with Haskell
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Albany junior high football teams split games with Haskell last Thursday in a pair of low-scoring contests.
The Cubs will finish out the season at home on Thursday (today) with the seventh grade hosting a rematch with Haskell starting at 4:00 p.m. The eighth graders will take the field at about 5:15 p.m. against a combined Hamlin junior high team. The JV Lions will face the Hamlin JV at about 6:30 p.m. in their season finale.
The seventh grade Cubs edged out Haskell 14-8, scoring twice late in the game to seal the win.
Dalton Richards scored the first tally on a 14-yard run, followed by the two-point run by Ashton Bailey to knot the score at 8-8.
Bailey scored the go-ahead touchdown in the final 11 seconds of the game on a pass from Branson Beal. The two-point attempt failed.
Both Landon Balliew and Andre Gjerpe had important fumble recoveries that affected the outcome of the game.
“We struggled on offense, with a touchdown called back and several other penalties that put us behind the sticks,” coach David Fairchild said.
The coach praised the team’s defensive efforts.
“I thought the kids played good defense,” the coach said. “Jayce Tinkle had several big tackles, along with Gjerpe, Bailey, Richards, Laithe Leech, and Ethan Green all with multiple tackles.”
Fairchild added that he was the proudest of the team’s drive the length of the field for a score in the last minute of the game.
The eighth grade Cubs dropped their game in Haskell, coming up short with a 14-12 loss.
The Cubs gave up a touchdown on the opening kickoff, but dug in and held the Indians until the final two minutes of the game.
“The defense really held strong after the opening kickoff,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “Haskell had two good backs, and our guys did a good job of containing them throughout the game.”
The coach said the Cubs were balanced on offense, with Lanxton Viertel and Adam Hill carrying the ball the most, with the offensive line creating running room.
Quarterback Lute Wheeler got the first score on a one-yard keeper, making the score 8-6 after the two-point attempt failed.
Hill scored on a long touchdown carry to give Albany a 12-8 lead. The conversion attempt failed.
The coach said that the offense had a few more shots on offense, but the Cubs were unable to come away with points.
“We knew this game would be a tough one,” Peacock said. “The guys responded to the early deficit, only giving up one touchdown on defense. I was really proud of the way they responded after Haskell scored on the opening kickoff. This game could have gone either way.”
