Lions to face Wink in regional round
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions faced their first serious challenge of the postseason and responded in an overwhelming manner.
Trailing by three late in the second quarter of their Class 2A Division II area playoff against the Muenster Hornets, the Lions quickly regained the lead and rolled to a 56-10 victory on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Graham’s Newton Field.
Albany (10-2) advances to the regional round to take on the fourth-ranked Wink Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25 at San Angelo Stadium.
Against Muenster, Coy Lefevre ran for three touchdowns, Cole Chapman ran for two, and Adam Hill scored twice as the Lions blew past the Hornets with touchdowns on six consecutive possessions. It was Albany’s sixth victory over the Hornets (6-6) in seven playoff meetings since 2003.
“We’ve played Muenster so often, they know what we like to do and how we coach things,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “They did some things a little different the first part of the game that took us a little time to get used to. Once we did, we started playing great defense.”
Lefevre said the Lions had to match, then exceed, the level of Muenster’s play.
“We came out flat in the first half,” he said. “The biggest adjustment we had to make was to come out attacking the second half and quit letting them do whatever they wanted to us. We came out ready to play.”
And it was a team-wide effort with several players making key plays in all phases.
“Everybody stepped up,” Lefevre said. “We played some really good football.”
Chapman was 10 of 15 passing for a season-high 185 yards and rushed for 84 yards on six carries as the Lions finished with 438 total yards. For one of the few times since Chapman was injured in the third game of the season, causing him to miss four games, Albany was able to open up the playbook a little more.
“Our running backs ran well, our line blocked well, and our receivers got open to make plays,” said Chapman, who averaged 18.5 yards per completion. “Our receivers got good separation, and we were able to make things happen.”
Lefevre rushed for 36 yards on nine carries and caught three passes for 75 yards. London Fuentes added three receptions for 63 yards rushed for 32 yards, while Hill ran for 53 yards.
The Lions defense held Muenster to 259 total yards, giving up just 73 yards in the second half.
“The coaches gave us some adjustments and got us all fired up in the locker room,” defensive tackle Tyler Chapman said. “We just started playing harder, playing faster, playing like a team. We went back to more of our defensive style.”
The junior said the task became easier as Albany expanded its lead.
“The momentum carries over from one drive to another,” he said. “It’s kind of electric.”
The Hornets had runs of 39 and 35 yards on the first play of their first two possessions with Cole Chapman making touchdown-saving tackles each time.
Albany came up with four turnovers – fumble recoveries by Tye Edgar and Hill and interceptions by Cason Fairchild and Fuentes – all of which led to Albany touchdowns.
“Turnovers were huge in the second half,” Faith said. “When you can take advantage and score off those turnovers, that really puts a bind on an opponent.”
Edgar led the Lions with nine total tackles, including two of the team’s nine tackles for loss. Hill and Koy Cauble were each in on six stops, while Lefevre, Samuel Rosas, Zane Waggoner, and Jayden Lucas were in on four apiece, each with at least one tackle for a loss.
After losing the ball on downs at the Muenster 18 on the opening possession, the Lions moved 79 yards in eight plays on their next series. Lefevre scored on a 4-yard run with 2:22 to go in the first quarter.
Muenster responded with back-to-back scoring drives to take a 10-7 lead. The Hornets reached the Albany 13 before settling for Bindel’s 30-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter. After forcing Albany’s only punt of the night, Muenster mounted a 13-play, 79-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes. Colton Deckard’s 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal put Muenster ahead with 2:35 left in the half.
The Lions responded quickly, moving 62 yards in 2:05 to regain the lead and set the stage for the second half blowout. Fuentes took a reception 36 yards to the Muenster 12, and Chapman connected with Branson Beal to convert on third-and-11, setting up Lefevre’s 1-yard score with 30 seconds left.
“That gave us a little bit of momentum,” Faith said. “We made a few adjustments at halftime on defense and offense, then came out and played really well the second half.”
And the second half was all Albany. After forcing a Muenster punt to start, the Lions needed just three plays to increase the lead on Chapman’s 30-yard keeper.
The next series opened the floodgates for the Lions.
Muenster lined up for another punt, but a wild snap was recovered by Edgar at the 4-yard line. Lefevre punched it in on the next play for a 28-10 lead.
Muenster mounted another drive into Albany territory on its next possession, but Beal stopped Bindel for a loss on fourth-and-1 from the Albany 24. Three plays later, Chapman raced 34 yards to make it 35-10 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter. Fuentes gained 32 yards on a reverse the play before the score as Albany overcame a holding penalty.
Fairchild’s interception with 10 seconds left in the period led to a seven-play, 83-yard drive that Hill ended with a bruising 23-yard run. Fuentes’ interception at the Muenster 26 set up a 25-yard scoring run by Rosas on his only carry of the game.
Hill provided Albany’s final touchdown just 23 seconds later when he returned a fumble caused by Edgar 18 yards to score. It was Albany’s 10th return touchdown in the last six games.
Facing Wink
The Lions find themselves in a similar situation to a year ago, having responded to a challenge in the area round to match up with a higher-ranked opponent in regional.
“Round 3 is when district champions start meeting each other,” Faith said. “It’s going to be a dogfight from here on out, not that it hasn’t been already. There’s nothing but good teams left, and you’d better be able to prepare and come out and play hard every week.”
Having been through it all before should work in Albany’s favor, Faith said.
“The playoff experience that our kids have had, being in big ballgames at this time of year, can’t do anything but help,” he said. “I don’t think the game will be too big for them. We just have to go out and execute.”
The Wildcats (12-0) offer a new opponent after competing in Region I before the current alignment placed them in District 5 2A Division II.
Wink has advanced in the playoffs by beating Cross Plains 60-0 in bi-district and Santo 35-19 in area. The Wildcats and Lions have two common opponents in Cross Plains and Eldorado, which Wink defeated 49-7.
Wink has averaged 49.5 points in 11 games (the regular-season finale against Midland TLCA was a forfeit win) while giving up 14.2.
“There’s a reason they’re 12-0,” Faith said. “We’ve got a big challenge in front of us.”
Quarterback-safety Kanon Gibson, son of Wildcats coach Brian Gibson, leads Wink on both sides of the ball. The three-year starter has completed 118 of 202 passes for 2,016 yards and 22 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 723 yards and 16 TDs on 67 carries. He leads the defense with 83 tackles, five interceptions, and a fumble recovery.
“They’ve got a great quarterback, and they’re very fast on defense,” Faith said. “The quarterback is the guy who makes them go. He can throw it, and he can run it.”
Bryan Wilcox adds 559 yards and 10 TDs rushing, with Hudson Morgan contributing 370 yards and five scores.
Jordan Tally is the leading receiver with 48 receptions for 953 yards and 12 TDs. Zachary Yactayo has caught 36 passes for 557 yards with five touchdowns.
“They’ve got a couple of good receivers and an offensive line that blocks well,” Faith said.
