Lions post 32-13 loss in season opener
By Donnie A. Lucas
For just the second time in 11 years, the Lions lost a home game at Robert Nail Stadium, falling Friday to the Colorado City Wolves in the season opener for both teams.
The visiting Wolves posted a 32-13 win over the Lions with the help of four Albany turnovers, but coach Denney Faith said he saw bright spots in the game and reminded his team that there is still a long season that lies ahead.
“You never want to start a season with a loss, but we saw some good things,” Faith said.
It’s been since 2005 that the Lions lost a season opener, falling to Eastland that year but still advancing three rounds deep into the playoffs. In fact, Albany lost three of the five pre-district games that season.
Despite the loss, the Lions have racked up an impressive win-loss record over the last decade, with 10 straight district championships and a history of deep playoff runs.
The last home loss for Albany was in 2016 when the Lions dropped a non-district game to Cisco, 34-7, on Sept. 23. Prior to that, you have to go back in the record books to Nov. 9, 2007 to find a 35-27 loss to Roscoe that decided the district championship in the regular season finale.
Albany will travel to Dublin this week for a 7:30 p.m. game at Memorial Stadium.
Dublin is coming off a 45-28 win over Hico in their season opener last week.
“Dublin has a good program and a good team,” Faith said. “We will be facing a completely different team than last week, with a spread offense and a very good quarterback and good receivers. We will be challenged in a different way than we were against Colorado City.”
The coach viewed this week’s challenge as just another opportunity for Albany players to get better.
“Dublin appears to be very athletic on defense, playing fast and running to the ball quickly,” he said. “They are also very well coached, so we have our work cut out for us.”
Dublin, like Colorado City, is a 3A Div. II team. Albany also has Class 3A Div. I Eastland coming up on the schedule Sept. 14, Class 2A Div. I Hawley on Sept. 21, and The Brook Hill School on Sept. 28, which is a private school with an enrollment similar to Class 3A.
Colorado City Loss
While the loss to the Wolves in the opener may sting, Faith says that he and the coaching staff picked up valuable information concerning areas of improvement that are needed.
“First, the kids gave great effort,” he said. “There wasn’t a lack of intensity this week, but we were able to see things that we need to get better at.”
The coach listed turnovers as the most costly errors in the game, along with staying with blocks, backs trusting that holes will open for them, and receivers running the correct routes.
“These are all things that can be corrected,” he said. “We will be working on them.”
The coach credited the Lion offense with mounting two good scoring drives, but noted that at least two others ended in or near the red zone due to turnovers.
“We have got to score when we have the opportunity,” he said. “We left a couple of scores on the field.”
Faith commended the defense for their efforts in the game.
“The option is a hard offense to defend, especially early in the year against a team that has been successful running it,” he said. “We had a few busts on assignments and our angles were not real good because of the speed of the game. The longer we play, the better we will get with that.”
He added that the team needs to tackle better on defense as well.
“I am still really pleased with the effort – as long as the guys continue to play hard, good things will happen,” he said. “We have a lot of younger kids on the field this year, and it will take time for some of them to figure it out.”
He was also happy that the team didn’t react negatively to the beginning of the game.
“It couldn’t have started any worse than a safety on the second play of the game, but I thought the kids did well not to panic,” he said.
Faith commended punter Ryan Hill for his efforts. Hill punted three times with a 38-yard average.
The Lions did suffer two injuries to starting seniors in the game. Payne Hebel suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him sidelined for at least three weeks, and Cameron Dacus has a separated shoulder that will need at least two weeks of recovery time, according to the coach.
How They Scored
The Lions started the game at their own one-yard line after the kickoff, but quarterback Ben West was pulled down behind the goal on the second play of the game for a safety to put the Wolves on the board first.
Colorado City then scored on its first offensive drive, covering 80 yards in six plays. The tally came on a 21-yard pass from Markis Monroe to Zach Thompson with 8:33 remaining in the opening period. The PAT by Thompson failed.
The Lions were threatening later in the first quarter, only have the series end with a fumble.
Albany scored early in the second on a six-yard pass from West to Ryan Hill in the end zone, capping a 59-yard drive in 10 plays. Hill booted the PAT to narrow the lead to 8-7. The rest of the second quarter remained scoreless.
The Lions shut the Wolves down on their first drive in the second half, taking over the ball at their 32-yard line.
On the third play of the series, West teamed up with Hill again for a 59-yard pass play for the touchdown, giving the Lions a 13-8 lead. The PAT attempt by Hill failed.
Colorado City answered on the next series, scoring on a 16-yard screen pass from Monroe to Bubba Williams. The two-point attempt failed, leaving the Wolves with a 14-13 lead.
Colorado City ended a Lion drive at Albany’s 35 with an interception by Thompson. The Wolves scored on the first play off the line on a pass from Thompson to Reid Harris. The PAT attempt was blocked.
The Wolves scored again on a 76-yard pass play from Thompson to Tracy Smith with less than a minute remaining in the third. The PAT attempt by Jacob Munoz was blocked, leaving the score at 26-13.
Cameron Dacus picked off a Colorado City pass with 4:45 left in the game to give Albany the ball at the Colorado City 25 yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Thompson picked off a tipped pass to end Albany’s chance of scoring.
Late in the game, Colorado City’s Tracy Smith intercepted an Albany pass at his own 34 and ran it back for the final score of the game. The PAT by Thompson failed.
