Lions to face fellow defending state champs
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions stepped up to meet the challenge Friday, Sept. 8 in defeating the Seymour Panthers 41-14 at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.
The Lions (3-0) visit the Hawley Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15 in a highly anticipated matchup of reigning state champions at Forrest Field.
Against Seymour, Albany employed an overwhelming rushing attack and stifling defense to turn a close game into a comfortable victory. Seymour was down six midway through the third quarter, but the Lions scored on their next three possessions to pull away.
“We knew Seymour was going to throw 40 times, so we wanted to keep the ball away from them as much as possible,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “We wanted to run, try to grind it out.
Adam Hill ran for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns, while Tyler Chapman (7-31 rushing) and Jaxson Hoel (5-13) each added a score. Albany finished with 378 rushing yards, averaging 9.0 yards per attempt.
“I’m really proud of the offensive line and the way they blocked all night long,” Faith said. “Of course, we know what kind of athlete Adam is. If you give him a crease, he’s going to be able to make yards.”
In a game that saw a temperature of 104 degrees at kickoff, Albany’s conditioning was a key in outlasting the Panthers.
“I think that was a big factor in the game,” Faith said. “I think we wore them down in the second half, and that contributed to a lot of the success we had running the football.”
A year ago, Albany’s 27-13 victory at Seymour saw the Lions suffer a rash of injuries that contributed to losses in the next two games. This time, the -Lions came away healthier, but not unscathed. Wyatt Windham (back) was held out for the second time in three games, while Faith announced Houston Heatly (knee) will be out for three weeks.
Hill, who scored on runs of 71, 36, 6, and 48 yards, averaged 13.6 yards per carry. Take out his three long TD dashes and he still averaged 8.1 on his other carries.
“It was a huge statement that we can still run the ball,” Hill said. “We can pound away even after losing two linemen.”
Quarterback Chip Chambers finished 4 of 10 passing for 26 yards as Albany committed to keeping the ball on the ground. Cason Fairchild had two receptions for 18 yards. One of their connections converted a fourth down in Seymour territory to sustain the drive that resulted in Chapman’s 8-yard touchdown.
Defensively, Albany held Seymour to 285 total yards, 250 of which came through the air. Panthers quarterback Brayden Loyd was 19 of 41 with two touchdowns to David Charo, but was constantly harassed by the Lion defense.
Albany finished with seven sacks among 10 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries and 10 pass breakups.
“Part of the game plan was to make their quarterback uncomfortable,” Faith said. “If you let him sit back and throw, he’ll pick you apart. If you stay in coverage all night, the receivers are too good. You’ve got to be able to put some pressure on him.”
Albany did so by again alternating between three- and four-man fronts. In addition, players lined up at different positions with Hill and Zane Waggoner both bouncing between the line and linebacker.
“Zane can play anywhere,” Hill said. “We know wherever Coach tells us to go, we can play there – defensive end, D-tackle, linebacker, it doesn’t matter.”
Branson Beal, who broke up two passes, and Luke Marshall led Albany with seven total tackles apiece. Hill, Fairchild and Heatly were each in on six stops, and Waggoner was in on five.
Hill recorded three sacks, two hurries, and batted down two passes. Waggoner had a sack, two hurries, and two breakups, while Lanxton Viertel had a sack and two hurries as the defensive front kept Loyd from getting into a rhythm.
In the secondary, Fairchild had an interception and a breakup. Calhan Fairchild broke up two passes.
“We used several different coverages, some zone, some man,” Faith said. “Sometimes we’d play man on one side and zone on the other to mix it up.”
The Lions and Panthers slugged it out to a scoreless standstill for most of the first quarter. Despite having some success, Seymour was forced to punt on its first five possessions as Albany built a 20-0 lead.
Seymour got on the board late in the half on a 31-yard pass from Loyd to Charo, who had five receptions for 114 yards. The duo hooked up again for a 24-yard score in the third quarter.
The Panthers opened the second half by driving to the Albany 19 before losing the ball on downs at the 12, but forced a punt and took over at the Albany 38. The TD cut Albany’s lead to 20-14 with 7:23 to go in the third quarter.
Then Albany caught the game-changing break.
Seymour attempted an onside kick, which Albany not only fielded but picked up a free 15 yards when the Panthers were flagged for interfering with a fair catch. Starting at the Seymour 36, it took five plays before Hill notched his third score.
The Panthers again lost the ball on downs at their own 48 and Hill scored for the fourth time on the next play to make Albany’s lead 34-14.
Cason Fairchild’s interception with 32 seconds left in the third quarter was followed by the game-defining drive. The Lions moved 77 yards in 11 plays, all on the ground, consuming 5:06. Hoel forced his way into the end zone from 2 yards out after appearing to be stopped short.
Facing Hawley
Hawley (2-1), the defending Class 2A Division I champ, comes in ranked No. 4 in the state after beating Eastland 33-20 last week.
Reigning 2A-DII champ Albany has been ranked No. 1 since preseason.
Faith said the matchup gives the Lions another strong test.
“We like to challenge ourselves in predistict so that when we get into district and the playoffs, we’ll feel like we’ve been tested,” he said. “We were tested last week and learned a lot of lessons. I think we’ll learn a lot this week.”
Hawley’s Keagan Ables is 39 of 69 passing for 519 yards and five TDs. Diontay Ramon has 17 catches for 219 yards and three TDs.
Ticket Information
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and can be purchased online at www.hawley.esc14.net/page/online-ticket-purchase or at the gate.
Forrest Field’s listed capacity is 2,212.
