Lions struggle with tough opponents
Coach Denney Faith wasn’t necessarily pleased with the Lions’ 26-20 loss in Dublin last Friday, but he was happy with the way his team continued to fight to the end of the water-logged battle.
“I loved the way our kids fought,” he said afterwards. “You never feel good about a loss, but I have to feel good about the effort the kids gave.”
The Lions will be back at home this Friday to host the Eastland Mavericks in the third non-district bout of the season. Kickoff at Robert Nail Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Mavs enter with a 2-0 start to the season, beating West 28-27 last week and Comanche 34-15 in their opener.
The Lions have started the season in unfamiliar territory, with two losses to Colorado City and Dublin. It has been over 15 years since Albany had a two-game losing start to the season, dating back to 2002.
“Eastland has a really good team this year,” Faith said. “They have a good sophomore quarterback who is already getting noticed by D1 schools, along with big, strong running backs and effective receivers. This will be another challenging week.”
The coach is not discouraged by the team’s record so far.
“We have got to keep playing,” he said. “We are a better team even after each loss. We are fighting some injuries right now and playing a tough pre-district schedule to prepare us for district.”
Coach’s Comments
Faith said that he saw several positive aspects of the game in Dublin despite the loss.
“Our offensive line blocked really well,” he said. “And our running game was especially effective under the weather conditions we faced.”
The coach praised running back Cutter Edgar, who totaled 76 yards on 24 attempts and scored three touchdowns for the Lions, including a 99-yard screen pass play. Faith also commended the backs for blocking well in the game.
On the negative side, the coach said that the Lions have to clean up turning the ball over. Albany lost two of five fumbles and had one interception thrown.
“We are somewhat young and inexperienced still, so we will keep getting better at controlling turnovers,” he said. “Every snap is an important learning tool at this point.”
On defense, Faith said that the team needs to tackle and wrap up better.
“Of course the weather conditions made it more difficult, but we need to play with better technique,” he said. “Overall, we continue to see improvement, but we still have a long way to go.”
Faith said that weather hurt the team’s passing game.
“The rain made the ball hard to control and it was hard for the receivers to break like they were supposed to,” he said. “But we compensated a lot with our running game.”
Faith credited the special teams with a good game.
“We scored a touchdown on a kickoff return and Ryan Hill really punted well,” he said. “We also kept them inside their own five-yard line on a kickoff, and were two for two on PAT kick attempts.”
Senior Colton Box was added to the injury list, joining seniors Cameron Dacus and Payne Hill.
“We are really missing them a lot and I know they want to get back quickly, but we are going to give them plenty of time to heal and not rush it,” Faith said. “We need them to be healed up properly for district, even though I know how hard it is for them to stand and just watch at this point.”
Scoring summary
2nd quarter – Dublin’s H. Huffman runs for 9 yards. Point after kick by G. Renteria was no good. (0-6)
3rd quarter – Dublin’s Cy Wing recovers his own fumble in the end zone for a score. Point after kick by Renteria good. (0-13)
3rd quarter – Cutter Edgar returns the kickoff from the Albany 4 yard line 96 yards for a touchdown. Point after kick by Ryan Hill good. (7-13)
3rd quarter – Edgar runs for 1-yard score. Point after kick by Ryan Hill good. (14-13)
4th quarter – Wing passes to Huffman for a 75-yard Dublin score. 2-point conversion pass no good. (14-19)
4th quarter – Ben West completes a screen pass to Edgar for a 99-yard score. Pass attempt for 2 points no good. (20-19)
4th quarter – Dublin’s J. Stanley runs for 23-yard touchdown. Point after kick by Renteria good. (20-26)
