Jr. high football teams get ready

By Sam Waller

Albany junior high athletes began preseason practice in football last week with the start of school.

Seventh and eighth grade teams will take on Dublin on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

Albany ISD athletic director Ryder Peacock, who will coach eighth grade football, said the Cubs have more than 30 players out for the two grades. The first two days of school were spent distributing equipment and getting organized with full practices starting Monday, Aug. 22.

“With football, there’s so much equipment,” Peacock said. “We were measuring and sizing kids for helmets and shoulder pads.”

Peacock said the Cubs will have about 19 eighth graders and 14 seventh graders. David Fairchild will coach the seventh grade team.

Peacock said details for the first outing have not been worked out yet, but that it typically is closer to a scrimmage format than a full game.

“We may play a couple of quarters,” he said. “The seventh grade game will be more of a scrimmage format just so we can just get them going.”