Lions punch ticket to state!
The Albany Lions are one step away from achieving their ultimate goal after a 34-14 victory over the Sunray Bobcats in the Class 2A Division II state semifinals Thursday, Dec.7atLubbock’s Lowrey Field.
Thewinearned the Lions (15-0) a return to the state championship game, the ninth in school historyandthesixthunderhead coach Denney Faith. Albany will face second-ranked Mart at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14 (today) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The meeting comes exactly one year after last year’s state final between the teams, a 41-21 Lions victory that gave Faith his first state title and Albany its third.
Senior Tyler Chapman, one of 11 players on the 2023 roster to see action in last year’s championship game, said the Lionsweredeterminedtoreturn to defend their title. It is the third time Albany has played in back-to-back finals, joining 1960-61 and 2014-15.
“We knew what it felt like after last year, and all summer we were just thinking about what would it take to get back,” Chapman said. “In practice, we had that feeling on our minds and just wanted to do anything we could to get back there. We knew the coaches were going to put us in the right spots to do so; we just had to execute and practice hard.”
Faith said returning to state was the goal from the first day of practice.
“That’s your ultimate goal, so it’s been a long 19 weeks,” he said. “Our kids have fought and played,battledthroughinjuries, and all kinds of stuff to put us in this position. We’re excited about having an opportunity to try to go win another state championship.”
To earn their shot at defending their crown, the Lions withstood Sunray’s challenge and pulled away in the second half on an unseasonably warm night in Lubbock.
“I thought our kids played really well,” Faith said. “Again, another really good defensive effortagainstaveryexplosiveoffense. Offensively,wecontrolled the ball and kept their offense off the field.”
The Lions had to overcome their first obstacle hours before kickoff when the charter bus carrying junior varsity players broke down six miles east of Anson. Faith said the varsity continued the trip and arrived at the stadium on schedule, while a school bus was brought from Albany to pick up the stranded JV.
“We were able to have all our equipment there, so it wasn’t much of a hassle for the varsity guys,” Faith said. “The JV got there a little late, but it wasn’t bad.”
Faith said that was because the Lions didn’t allow the issue to become a factor.
“I think our kids were focused and ready to go,” he said. “They’rementallytoughenough to not let something like that affect their performance.”
Adam Hill ran for three touchdowns and Chip Chambers passed for two, while the Lion defense put the clamps on yet another prolific offense, holdingtheBobcats(12-3)scoreless in the second half.
Hill accounted for 209 of Albany’s 387 total yards, rushing for 167 yards on 26 carries – moving him past 2,500 yards for the season – and catching three passes for 42 yards. His scores came on runs covering 4, 4, and 9 yards.
Chamberscompleted14of20 passes for 204 yards with TDs of 30 yards to Branson Beal and 37 to Cason Fairchild. Fairchild caught five passes for 95 yards, with Beal snagging four for 41 yards.
Chambers said the key was remaining patient and taking what the Bobcats were giving up.
“Coach talked about it all week,” he said. “Instead of taking a lot of deep shots, we took short routes. Sunray had a big defensive line, so we bumped to whatever side their weakness was.Coachgaveusagameplan, and we executed it.”
Meanwhile, the Lions defense wasn’t giving up much and came up with two key takeaways. Albany held a team that came in averaging almost 500 total yards and 50 points per game to 276 total yards and two touchdowns. Sunray quarterback Armando Lujan, whobecamejustthethirdTexas high school quarterback to ever record 4,000 passing yards and 1,000rushingyardsinaseason, finished 19 of 33 passing for 204 yards and ran for 61 yards on 15 carries.
Luke Marshall led the Lions with 11 total tackles, including nine solo. Zane Waggoner had nine total tackles with a sack and another tackle for loss in addition to batting down two passes. Wyatt Windham and Jaxson Hoel each had eight tackles, while Hill had a sack andfourquarterbackpressures.
Albany also used the clock to its advantage, allowing Sunray eight total possessions, just three in the second half. The Lions held the ball for 27:14, nearly 6½ minutes more than the Bobcats.
AlbanycenterColeReadsaid it was a product of all the position groups working together.
“Our offensive line’s been able to come off the ball all year,” he said. “Adam, Jaxson, Tyler, and all them are spectacular in the backfield. We can run the ball, and if we don’t get to it, Chip throws it downfield. First down and here we go again.”
Faith said the plan was to keep the ball away from the Bobcats, who actually wound up running more plays.
“The more we can keep their offensive guys playing defense or off the field, the better our chances,” the coach said. “We had good, hard running with our backs and the offensive line took control up front. We were able to pick up first downs and convert a few third and fourth downs, which was huge.”
The Lions converted three of seven third downs and two of three fourth downs, punting only once while scoring on five of nine possessions. Sunraywas7for14onthird downsand0for2onfourth.
Albany scored on its first two possessions and never trailed after Beal’s TD reception with 4:00 to go in the first quarter, but Sunray stayed close and was driving for a potential go-ahead score in the third quarter after trailing 20-14 at halftime.
Then the Lions defense rose to the occasion.
Sunray faced secondand- 1attheAlbany23-yard line on the opening drive of the half, but back-to-back holding penalties pushed theBobcatsbacktotheLion 39. On second-and-17, Hill blewthroughtosackLujan for a 12-yard loss. On the next play, Beal stepped in front of Lujan’s pass at the Albany 38 and returned it to the 44.
“(Lujan) extended the play longer than than he should have had to,” Beal said. “Eventually, our linemen got pressure on him. I guess he didn’t see me, and I just ran in front of the ball and caught it.”
It was Albany’s 10th interception of the playoffs andBeal’ssecondinthelast two games.
Seven plays later, Hill’s second TD run with 3:03 left in the quarter gave the Lionsa27-14leadandsome breathing room.
Hill’s first score capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive that started slowly. On third-and-10, Chambers connected with Calhan Fairchild for 12 yards. Five plays later, a 14-yard pass to Chapman gave Albany first-andgoalattheSunray 10 to set up the TD.
Sunray needed just two plays and 20 seconds to respond as Lujan found Kagan Davis all alone on the left side for a 61-yard score that accounted for more than a fifth of the Bobcats’ total yardage. Azriel Vargas’ conversion gave the Bobcats a brief 7-6 lead, just the second time Albany has trailed in the playoffs.
The Lions delivered their own response barely two minutes later on Beal’s score, covering 45 yards in five plays after Marshall’s 40-yard kickoff return.
Albanymissedanopportunity to take control when Chapman recovered an errant snapattheSunray24. The Lions were unable to move, turning the ball over on downs, but the Lion defense forced a punt.Albany then moved 79 yards in six plays for Cason Fairchild’s score to lead 20-7 with 7:15 left in the half. The play was another short route, but Fairchild spun out of a tackle at the 30 and raced inforhisteam-leading14th receiving touchdown of the season.
Late in the half, Sunray put together an 11-play, 74-yard drive that Lujan ended on a 2-yard keeper with 30 seconds remaining. The score allowed the Bobcats to put pressure on Albany as they started the second half by driving deep intoAlbanyterritorybefore the sequence that resulted in Beal’s interception.
Forced to take risks down 27-14, Sunray lost the ball on downs on its final two possessions.After Hill’s second TD, the Bobcats put together another drive that crossed midfield, but Lujan was shaken up after being slammed to the turf by Marshall and exited the game for a few plays. Luke Grajeda took over and completed three passes to get the Bobcats to the Albany 36, but Lujan’s return resulted in a loss of 15 yards over three plays with Waggoner’s fourthdown sack on the second play of the fourth quarter, giving the Lions the ball at the Sunray 49.
TheLionsate4:27offthe clock before Hill capped a seven-play drive with his third touchdown to make it 34-14.
The Bobcats’ last gasp came when Lujan was tripped up for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-3 from the Sunray 40. Albany ran out the final 6:02 of the game, taking a knee on first-andgoal at the 2, bypassing a chance to score again.
Facing Mart
The Lions will face another explosive offense in eight-time champion Mart (15-0), but the Panthers rely on their ground game to get the job done.
Running back J.D. Bell has 2,336 yards and 41 touchdowns with quarterback Demontrel Medlock adding 1,274 yards and 23 scores.Medlockhaspassed for1,692yardsand18TDs.
“They’re similar to what we saw last year,” Faith said. They’re going to try to run the ball. That’s what they hang their hat on.”
The Panthers are averaging 444.7 total yards and 48.5 points per game.
Defensively, Mart has allowed9.2pointspergame with six shutouts.
“They play really sound defense,” Faith said. “They’re not going to try to trick you or stunt you too much, they just play good technique and try to be aggressive.”
Mart, the District 10 winner,advancedwitha3824 win over Chilton in the semifinals. The Panthers trailed 24-14 late in the thirdquarterbeforescoring the last 24 points.
“They’reveryexplosive,” Faith said. “Their running back can go at any time. They make you play the run so hard; then they can hit a big pass play.”
After playing the Wednesday night game a year ago, necessitating a short week, the teams fall intotheThursdaymorning slotthisyear.Faithsaidthe Lions won’t do much different than last time.
“We still had Monday and Tuesday practices like we’ve always had,” he said. “We practiced Wednesday before we got on the bus to go. That’s why we play Thursday games, to get on that schedule.”
The coach added that playing the first game of the day has its advantages.
“You don’t have to sit around and wait all day,” he said. “We had the same amount of practice time we’ve had the last couple of weeks.”
