Lions’ only scrimmage set in Hawley today
By Donnie A. Lucas
Coach Denney Faith is ready to see the 2020 version of the Albany Lions in action, and he certainly isn’t alone.
The Lion football team will make its debut on Thursday (tonight) in a scrimmage match-up against the Hawley Bearcats. The JV will start the action in Hawley at 5:00 p.m., followed by the varsity team.
No admission will be charged but a 50 percent capacity ruling is in effect, so fans should be prepared for changes.
The University Interscholastic League limited all Texas schools to just one football scrimmage this season in an effort to limit possible exposure or spread of the coronavirus.
“The guys are in good shape and have made a lot of progress,” he said. “We are excited about the opportunity to see them play against an opponent.”
The coach said the scrimmage will provide the chance to see areas where the team needs to improve.
“I hated to see us miss out on a scrimmage this year because we need to see where the players need to grow and get better,” the coach said. “We have several new players in new positions, so we will be watching for them to prove themselves.”
The Lions are ranked in preseason polls in the top 10 among Class 2A Division II teams and are expected to win their new District 8-2A race.
Albany and Cross Plains are the only two teams returning from last year’s district, joining Meridian, Hico, Ranger, and Santo.
The coaches in the new district met last week, changing the schedule for the second half of the season to be more favorable in case any member schools have to close or miss a game due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The open week was moved to Week 11 so there will be a date for a make-up game in district if needed,” Faith said. “The last two district games were also changed so we could actually get two games in during Week 11 if needed.”
Faith explained that the UIL requires five days between games at the varsity level, so by moving the Santo game to a Thursday the final regular season game against Cross Plains could be played on Wednesday, Oct. 28 if necessary, which allow for two games to be played during the open week before the playoffs start.
The coach added that if no games are missed during the season that the Wednesday game would most likely be switched back to Friday night.
“This was all in case we miss some games,” he said. “If there isn’t any interruption of the season, we will probably move the last regular game to Thursday or Friday.”
The superintendents of the football district were due to meet this week to work out how tickets and stadium restrictions would be handled. No decision had been at press time.
Fans should be aware that seating will be limited and socially distanced in the stands this season. How tickets will be dispersed is still up in the air.
The Lions lost 13 seniors off of last year’s 8-4 team that advanced to the area round of the playoffs before falling to Windthorst.
