Lions face Muenster in regional final
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions were handed their biggest challenge of the season last Thursday by the Olney Cubs in their Class 2A Division II area playoff at Graham.
The Lions responded with a strong second half to pull away for a 32-10 victory over a team it pummeled 55-6 seven weeks earlier.
Regional Playoff
Albany, ranked fourth in the state, gets an even bigger test in the third round, taking on No. 2 Muenster at Porcupine Field in Springtown Friday at 2:00 p.m. The Hornets (12-0) advanced with a 63-24 victory over Seymour.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “Muenster runs a completely different offense, but you’ve got to be just as disciplined. You have to see what they’re trying to do and be able to react.”
This will be the sixth playoff meeting between the teams since 2003, but the first since 2017, when Muenster recorded its only victory against the Lions on the way to a state championship.
Muenster defeated defending state champ Windthorst in winning the District 7 title, then beat Cross Plains and Seymour in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
“You look at Districts 7 and 8, and the two champions are playing each other and the two runner-ups are playing each other,” Faith said. “That kind of gives you an indication how strong these districts were.”
Different Team
“Olney improved immensely over the seven weeks since we played them last, but our kids played hard and played well,” Faith said. “The thing that makes them so difficult is they’re in four-down territory all over the field. Any time you’ve got four downs to pick up 10 and you’re averaging three, that puts a lot of pressure on your defense.”
Albany led 12-10 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.
“They kind of shocked us in the first half, punched us in the mouth,” senior Brooks Neece said. “It took us a little bit to get used to it. They were playing with a different level of intensity than they did in the first game.”
Albany (11-0) advances to the regional round to take on the Muenster Hornets. That game is set for 2:00 p.m. Friday at Porcupine Stadium in Springtown.
Against Olney, Jaheim Newton rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter to give Albany an early 12-0 lead, then Coy Lefevre ran for three scores in the second half as the Lions secured the victory.
The Lions rushed for 392 of their 419 total yards as Newton led the way with 174 yards on 17 carries. His touchdown runs covered 5 and 1 yards.
Albany’s fullbacks, Lefevre and Neece, and quarterback Cole Chapman accounted for the rest with all averaging more than 8 yards per carry. Lefevre finished with 104 yards on 12 carries, while Neece added 60 yards on just three carries. The duo combined seven gains of more than 10 yards. Neece had a 35-yard run to set up Newton’s second score.
“That’s just the way our offense is executing,” Lefevre said. “The majority of it was our offensive line. They’ve been amazing so far this year. I hope they keep rolling on through the next few weeks.”
Chapman was 3 of 9 passing for 27 yards as the Lions kept the ball on the ground.
“The game plan was to rely a little more on the run, but after we saw we were able to run the ball as well as we were, we felt like we’d give them a little bit of their own medicine and take the clock away, especially in the second half,” Faith said.
“We were snapping the ball with four or five seconds left on the play clock, taking our time and picking up first downs, which kept their offense off the field.”
Olney finished with 198 total yards, 149 of it on the ground. Adam Hill led the Lion defense with nine tackles, while Neece had 8.5. Zane Waggoner made 5.5 stops, and Lefevre had five.
After Albany jumped out in front, Olney (6-6) rallied with scores on consecutive possessions, becoming the first opponent to do so without the Lions scoring in between.
Olney quarterback Gatlin Guy, who rushed for 93 yards on 27 carries, capped a nine-play, 78-yard march with a 2-yard keeper for the Cubs’ touchdown. The score was set up when Guy hit Keller Knight for his only completion, a 49-yard gain to the Albany 6-yard line.
After the Lions failed to respond, the Cubs drove 63 yards in 13 plays before settling for Cole Turner’s 28-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in the half, cutting Albany’s lead to 12-10.
The Lions moved the ball well throughout the first half, gaining 221 total yards, but struggled to finish off scoring chances.
Albany’s opening possession reached the Olney 31, but Guy intercepted Chapman’s first pass of the night at the 7. Following Olney’s touchdown, Chapman’s 17-yard TD run was called back for holding and the Lions turned the ball over on downs at the Cubs 26.
The frustration continued following the field goal. Newton got loose on a draw play and appeared headed for the end zone, but Olney defensive back Jovani Rockmore knocked him out of bounds at the 2 as the clock ran out.
Faith said the Lions were able to maintain their composure despite a series of calls that helped keep them from scoring.
“You’re going to get some of those calls sometimes – it’s just part of the game,” he said. “You’ve just got to play through those and keep playing hard. Sooner or later, one of those calls will go your way.”
The Cubs received the second half kickoff with a chance to take the lead before Albany turned the tide. Olney went for fourth-and-3 from the Albany 46, but Lefevre and Cooper Fairchild stopped Guy for a loss.
“They had all the momentum going into halftime,” Neece said. “We knew we had to keep them out of the end zone. That first drive just kind of set the tone for us for the second half.”
The Lions then scored on three consecutive possessions, getting touchdown runs of 4, 16 and 6 yards from Lefevre.
The defense came up with another big stop following Lefevre’s first score. With Olney facing third-and-3 at its own 46, Taren Farmer downed Guy for a loss to force a punt.
Albany’s ground attack put the game away on the next two series, moving 74 yards in six play and 73 yards in 10 plays, the latter drive chewing up six minutes of the fourth quarter.
Ticket Info
All tickets are being sold online. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students.
To purchase tickets, visit www.springtownisd.net, link to springtownisd.net/Page/12001, or check the Albany Athletic Booster Club Facebook page.
