Lions collect 5th trophy, advance to semifinal
Overcoming an 0-5 start in what may be the worst pre-district record of any team to make it to the fifth round of the playoffs, the Lions are now among the final four Class 2A Div. II teams left standing as they head into the state semifinal game on Thursday.
Albany won a rematch with district foe Hamlin, 41-28, last week to take the quarterfinal trophy and end the Pipers’ season at 12-2.
Albany (9-5) will face Gruver (13-1) on Thursday in Plainview’s Greg Sherwood Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m.
Albany will serve as the visitor this game, with ticket prices set at $5 for adults and $3 for students. District, senior citizen, and coaches’ passes will be accepted.
The Greyhounds defeated Stratford last week in the quarterfinals, 50-14. Both teams are from District 3-2A, with Gruver advancing as the champion and Stratford the runner-up.
“They are very athletic on offense,” coach Denney Faith said. “They have two big receivers that are hard to handle, but they are very capable of running the ball too. They’ll stress our defense a lot to protect against what they can do.”
The Lions overcame a rocky start to the season, losing five straight pre-district games – a first for any Lion team since the mid-1950s.
“A lot of people counted us out at that point,” the coach said. “And it would have been easy for the kids to finish up the season and move on to the next sport. But they didn’t give up.”
Faith said the team learned from the adversity of playing mostly much larger teams and dealing with injuries.
“We used the lessons we learned and kept working,” he said. “That 0-5 record doesn’t mean anything if we are still playing in December. We just had to stay focused and keep believing that it could happen.”
A victory for the Lions would propel the team to the state championship game next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington to play the winner of the Mart vs. Falls City game.
Tickets for the state game are available through the state football championship page link on the UIL website: www.uiltexas.org/football/state or www.seatgeek.com. The cost is $15 for a pass to all three games each day.
A win against Gruver would give Faith his 300th career victory since taking over as Lion head coach in 1987.
Lions Dominate
Hamlin Again
Faith said that the stats from the win over Hamlin couldn’t have been more even, with one big exception.
“It was an evenly matched game between two good teams, other than the turnovers,” he said. “They had two big turnovers, and for the first time, we didn’t have any. That was the difference.”
He credited the Lions for not letting Hamlin’s early score change their determination.
“I’m really proud of the way the kids fought in that game,” Faith said. “Hamlin scored first and we responded, which is similar to how the first game went.”
The Lions defeated Hamlin 34-27 for the District 7-2A title on Nov. 9.
The coach praised quarterback Ben West for his best performance so far, passing for five touchdowns and returning a fumble on defense to score another.
“Ben played well and our receivers made some big catches,” he said. “I’m also really proud of how Cutter (Edgar) ran the ball for us. He ran with a lot of intensity and authority for one of his best games.”
Faith explained that having Edgar as a rushing threat causes opportunities in Albany’s passing game to open up.
“They had to defend against our run and couldn’t concentrate just on our throwing game,” he said. “We were able to keep them off balance.”
The coach said the defense played very well too.
“Hamlin had enough good athletes to hit big plays from almost anywhere, so our defense had to eliminate as many of those opportunities as possible,” Faith said. “We played fast and hit hard to play very well under pressure. We had a few missed tackles, but you just expect that against a team as good as Hamlin, especially at this point in the season.”
The coach added that special teams performed well, especially Ryan Hill’s punting.
“Field position is all-important in a close game like this, and we were able to pen them back deep with our punting a couple of times,” he said.
The coach also thanked the fans for supporting the team at Shotwell Stadium last week.
“That was our biggest crowd yet, and the kids really appreciated the extra support,” he said. “A crowd like that makes all the difference, and we are hoping they will follow us this week to Plainview.”
Scoring Summary
Hamlin – Jackson Sepeda runs for 8-yard touchdown. Braydin Warner kicks the PAT. 1st quarter – 00:28. Score 0-7.
Albany – Ben West completes 28-yard touchdown pass to Blaine Kayga. Ryan Hill kicks the PAT. 2nd quarter – 09:40. Score 7-7.
Albany – West completes 11-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Dacus. Hill kicks PAT. 2nd quarter – 03:52. Score 14-7.
Hamlin – Sepeda runs 34 yards for a touchdown. Warner kicks PAT. 2nd quarter – 00:55. Score 14-14.
Albany – West completes 65-yard pass to Dacus for touchdown. Kick by Hill fails. 3rd quarter – 08:06. Score 20-14.
Albany – West passes to Dillon Hindman for 10-yard touchdown. Hill kicks PAT. 3rd quarter – 03:50. Score 27-14.
Hamlin – Warner passes to Austin Lozano for 22-yard touchdown. Kick by Warner is good. 4th quarter – 11:54. Score 27-21.
Albany – West completes 44-yard pass to Dacus for touchdown. PAT by Hill is good. 4th quarter – 04:55. Score 34-21.
Hamlin – Warner 57-yard pass to Jevon Williams good for touchdown. Warner kicks PAT. 4th quarter – 04:45. Score 34-28.
Albany – Hamlin pass from Braydin Warner to Austin Brown complete then fumbled. Recovered and returned 43 yards by West for touchdown. Hill kicks the PAT. 4th quarter – 01:35. Score 41-28.
