Lions lose steam in second half
By Donnie A. Lucas
It was a tale of two halves for the Albany Lions last Friday in Eastland.
The 2A Lions dominated the first half of the non-district showdown against the 3A Mavericks, taking a 28-27 lead to the locker room at the half.
But the second half belonged to the Mavericks, who scored 33 unanswered points to rally for a 60-28 win over the visiting Lions.
Albany will be at home Friday night in Robert Nail Stadium to host the unbeaten Hawley Bearcats, who are fresh off a win over the Hamlin Pied Pipers last week.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
“Hawley will present another big challenge for our guys,” head coach Denney Faith said. “Like Eastland, they have a big, physical running back and as good an offensive line as we will probably see in the regular season. So this will be another big game for our defense.”
The coach added that the Lions will have to be more balanced this week on offense, coming off the Eastland game where the Lions gained 320 yards of offense in the air and only 48 yards from the running game.
“We have been working on improving our ground game,” Faith said. “Hawley has a good team, and we need to be ready.”
The Bearcats bring a 3-0 record into the game with a win last week over Hamlin (46-44), along with earlier victories against Bangs (46-9) and Roscoe (39-0).
Eastland Game Comments
Faith commended the Lions for playing an outstanding first half against Eastland last Friday.
“We played really well on offense in the first half, making big plays,” he said. “Our receivers did a good job of breaking tackles and picking up yardage.”
He noted the efforts of receivers Dillon Hindman, Blaine Kayga, B.J. Morris and Cade Neve.
“It was a different story in the second half,” Faith said. “We kept letting mistakes or penalties keep us from getting drives started. Missed assignments put us behind the chains.”
He said the Lions will be working on consistency.
“Ben West also had a good game seeing the field and making big plays,” the coach said. “But we have got to run the ball better than we have and become more balanced on offense.”
On the other side of the ball, the coach said the Lions’ defense had their hands full.
“Eastland is a big, talented team with a lot of weapons to use,” he said. “Their quarterback made good decisions and was accurate, along with the fact that they have a running back who was one of the best we will see.”
Albany will concentrate on tackling in workouts.
“We didn’t tackle well,” Faith said. “We have got to take care of our assignments and not try to freelance on defense. We had people out of position.”
Faith praised the team for having good attitudes and not getting down about their first loss.
“We will continue to get better,” he said. “We have a tough pre-district schedule, but it is all preparing us for district.”
The coach was pleased with the improvement in scoring four of four on PATs in the game. However, he said the coverage teams gave up a touchdown and a punt return, which will have to be improved.
“Cade Neve punted well for us,” Faith said. “He got us out of a hole a couple of times.”
Scoring Summary
Albany – 1st quarter – 5:59. Ben West completes 3-yard pass to Dillon Hindman for touchdown. PAT by Colby Hargett good. Score 7-0.
Eastland – 1st quarter – 5:04. Behren Morton pass to Alex Gonzales at Lion 9-yard line. Fumble recovered by Gonzales for touchdown. PAT attempt by Morton blocked. Score 7-6.
Albany – 1st quarter – 3:45. Robert Bailey runs three yards for touchdown. PAT by Hargett good. Score – 14-6.
Eastland – 1st quarter – 3:29. Anthony Bonilla scores on 86-yard kickoff return. PAT by Morton good. Score – 14-13.
Albany – 2nd quarter – 5:14. West completes 19-yard pass to B.J. Morris for touchdown. PAT by Hargett good. Score – 21-13.
Eastland – 2nd quarter – 4:13. Morton scores on one-yard carry. Morton kicks PAT. Score – 21-20.
Albany – 2nd quarter – 2:32. West pass complete to Hindman for 71-yard touchdown play. PAT by Hargett is good. Score 28-20.
Eastland – 2nd quarter – 2:09. Bonilla scores on 7-yard run. PAT by Morton good. Score 28-27.
Eastland – 3rd quarter – 7:54. Morton passes 39 yards to Bonilla for touchdown. Morton passes to Bonilla for two-point play. Score 28-35.
Eastland – 3rd quarter – 6:04. Bonilla runs for six-yard touchdown. Two-point run by Dylan Wilson fails. Score – 28-41.
Eastland – 3rd quarter – 2.11. Bonilla scores on one-yard run. Morton kicks PAT. Score 28-48.
Eastland – 4th quarter – 11.18. Brandon Fielding runs for 14-yard touchdown. Morton’s kick is blocked. Score – 28-54.
Eastland – 4th quarter – 5:58. Mark Zarate runs one-yard run for touchdown. Kick by Nathaniel Cruz no good. Score – 28-60.
