Season ends with tough semifinal battle

By Sam Waller

The semifinals are called the cruelest round of the state football playoffs.

The Albany Lions learned that the hard way last Thursday, falling one step short of a shot at the Class 2A Division II title with a 35-14 loss to the Stratford Elks at Lubbock’s Lowrey Field.

“Our kids gave us everything that we asked of them and played as hard as they could,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Albany finished its season 13-1. Stratford (14-1) advanced to face Falls City in the championship game today at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The loss was Albany’s third in seven trips to the semifinals under Faith, who completed his 35th season leading the program. The Lions are 7-6 all-time in the semifinals.

“We’ve got great tradition here, and the reason is we live in a great community that cares about kids, cares about athletics, cares about football,” Faith said. “If you have all of those things combined, your expectations will be high. Our kids, year in and year out, live up to those expectations, and this year was no different.”

The loss marked the final appearance in an Albany uniform for the team’s 11 seniors.

“I’m very appreciative of our seniors and what they’ve meant to the program,” Faith said. “They’ve been a good group as far as leadership goes and done everything they could to keep the program and the tradition where it is.”

The onfield postgame gathering was an emotional scene for the group.

“We love each other, and we’ve always had a close bond,” senior lineman Bryce Asher said. “In seventh grade, we told each other we were going to get to state, and we sure did get close. We knew what we wanted. We fell a little short, but we fought to the last minute.”

Fullback-linebacker Brooks Neece said the team’s closeness helped the Lions advance five rounds into the playoffs.

“All these guys are my brothers, and I’ve loved every chance I’ve gotten to play with them,” he said. “It hurts coming up a step short, but it was an amazing season regardless. Twenty weeks with your brothers is nothing to complain about.”

Defensive back Luke Ivy said the seniors are leaving behind a solid legacy for future teams to follow.

“I think we’re giving younger people something  to look up to with the semifinals, and hopefully they’ll exceed that,” he said. “Even though we can’t go all the way, I think we left a good legacy for having a strong bond throughout the team.”

Asher said that bond helped create lasting memories.

“We’ll get back together some day and tell all the stories about all the plays somebody made, who made this tackle, or who saved a touchdown,” he said.

Albany fans made the season even more special, Faith said.

“I appreciate all the support the fans have shown this football team and the things they’ve done for our athletes that go unnoticed,” he said. “A big thank you to our community and those who support our kids.”

Cole Chapman passed for one score and ran for another as Albany led most of the first half. Stratford responded with three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Cody Rinne and two more by Zane Burr.

Chapman finished 14 of 37 passing for 231 yards as the Lions were held to 28 yards rushing. London Fuentes caught five passes for 97 yards and Neece had six receptions for 67 yards.

“Stratford played really well defensively and controlled the ball,” Faith said. “With the limited time we had the ball, we had to try take some shots. We hit on a couple of them and missed on some.”

The Elks finished with 381 total yards, rushing for 302 and averaging five-plus yards per carry. Rinne rushed for 173 yards and was 6 of 13 passing for 79.

Jaheim Newton, who had just six carries for 14 yards, made his impact on defense with a team-leading 9.5 tackles. Samuel Rosas had 8.5 with Neece and Adam Hill each recording 6.5. Taren Farmer finished with six, Robert Bailey five and Ivy four.

As they had in every game this season, the ­Lions scored first. Neece intercepted a Rinne pass, and two plays later, Fuentes broke away for a 53-yard touchdown reception.

Stratford responded with Rinne’s first TD. On their next possession, stopped at the Albany 14, the Elks settled for a 31-yard field goal by Andre Duran for a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

Behind for the first time all season, the Lions regained the lead on Chapman’s 4-yard run with 2:20 left in the half. The drive was kept alive when Stratford was flagged for offsides on fourth-and-4 near midfield, and Chapman connected with Adam Hill for a 42-yard gain on the next snap.

The Elks answered with a nine-play, 82-yard drive, taking the lead for good on Rinne’s second TD with 25 seconds left to go up 17-14.

Albany had a chance to go back in front with the first possession of the second quarter, but Alfredo Duarte intercepted Chapman on the second play. That led to Rinne’s third score for a nine-point advantage.

Duarte also recovered a fumble as the Elks finished with a 3-1 turnover edge.

 “They won the turnover battle, and that made the difference,” Faith said.

Burr’s first score pushed Stratford’s lead to 29-14. The Lions drove to Stratford’s 16 and 4 on its next two series, but were stopped on downs both times.

“They were dropping eight guys into coverage and were able to get pressure with just three,” Faith said. “That was something that hadn’t happened to us this year.”

Down 15 late in the game, Albany was forced to gamble, resulting in Burr’s second score. The Lions rushed 11 on a punt, which was downed at the Lions 6. The Lions turned the ball over on downs there and Burr scored on the next play.

Offseason

Faith said the Lions will begin their offseason program when school resumes in January after the Christmas break.

“After five tough weeks in the playoffs, everybody’s a little beat up and sore,” he said. “We’re going to let their bodies recuperate a little bit and enjoy the holidays. When we get back, we’re going to go to work.”

Realignment

Albany will learn its district assignment for the next two seasons when the UIL’s biennial realignment is announced in February. The UIL released numbers for conference and division breaks last week. Albany, with an average daily enrollment of 158, will again be in Class 2A Division II for football. The cutoff between Division I and II is 164.5.

Faith said past alignments mean little when trying to predict where Albany will be placed.

“You just take what they give you and go on,” he said.  “You never know what it’s going to be.”