Lions roll past Miles, return home to face Winters
The Albany Lions opened district play in dominant fashion Friday night, defeating the Miles Bulldogs 48–0 on the road. The trip—a two-hour bus ride for the Lions—ended with one of the team’s most complete performances of the season, combining a stifling defense with a powerful offensive showing that totaled 529 yards.
Albany’s offense started slowly, hindered by a handful of early penalties that stalled drives, but soon found its rhythm behind sophomore quarterback Clay Chapman, who completed 17 of 22 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns. Chapman spread the ball around effectively, with Jaxson Street leading the way with seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. Calhan Fairchild added six receptions for 58 yards and two scores, while Huffman Heatly pulled in four catches for 52 yards.
On the ground, the Lions overpowered the Bulldogs for 325 rushing yards. Chapman also led the team in rushing with 95 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while Shawn Keen contributed 71 yards on six attempts. Eight different players recorded rushing yards in the win, including touchdowns from Keen, Breylon Billington and Sam Tidwell.
Coach Denney Faith said he was pleased with the effort on both sides of the ball. “We played really well both sides of the ball,” he said. “The defense posted a shutout and held them under 100 yards, while the offense put up over 500 yards. We started slow, but once we settled in, we picked it up.”
Albany’s defense set the tone early and never let up, holding Miles to just 34 total yards of offense and forcing multiple three-and-outs. The Bulldogs managed only seven first downs all night, most of them aided by penalties. Faith said the team’s early-season schedule helped prepare them for district play. “Playing those tough teams early got us ready for district,” he said. “We were able to show that Friday night against Miles.”
The Lions came out of the game healthy, aside from a sprained wrist for Mason McCloy, who is listed as day-to-day but expected to play this week.
Albany (4–2, 1–0) now returns home for the first time in nearly a month to host Winters this Friday at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium. The Blizzards enter the matchup 0–1 in district after falling to Hamlin last week. Faith said his team is eager to be back on home turf and he expects a hard-fought game. “We’re looking forward to being back home,” he said. “Winters will come ready—they always play hard, and they don’t want to start district 0–2. We’re expecting their best effort.”
Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday in Albany.
