Youth teams continue play
By Kathy Thomson
The fifth and sixth grade youth basketball teams continued their 2020 season last Saturday, with the girls on the road, and the boys playing at home.
5th Grade Boys
The fifth grade boys played in the Albany High main gym last Saturday. They were paired with Hawley at 9:00 a.m. and then with Eula Maroon at 1:00 p.m.
“We lost our first game 20-13,” said coach Morgan Smith.
The boys came back to beat Eula Maroon 38-3 that afternoon.
“We will not be playing this Saturday,” Smith said. “Four of our seven kids have conflicts, two with the stock show, and two who will be out-of-town.”
5th Grade Girls
According to coach Loree Lee, the fifth grade girls lost both of their games in Merkel last Saturday.
“In the first game, we lost to Hawley by two points, 10-12,” said Lee.
Jim Ned beat Albany in their second game.
The team will not play on Jan. 25 due to conflicts with the stock show, according to Lee.
“We are also having conflicts with cheer competition the following Saturday, Feb. 1, but we are hoping we will have enough girls to play,” said the coach.
6th Grade Girls
The sixth grade girls split games again this week, beating Hawley 12-6, then falling to Jim Ned 26-4. The girls’ matches were in Merkel.
“The girls played hard in both games,” said coach Clint Chapman. “We ran our offense really well against Hawley and made some early baskets. Our defense held them to zero points until the fourth quarter.”
Scoring for Albany were Caroline Chapman 6, Braylee Clark 2, Avarie Myrick 2, and Kaisley Bartee 2.
“Jim Ned ran a press that gave us some trouble,” said the coach. “It was good for us to see pressure this early. We will be better prepared for the rest of the season.”
Scoring for Albany was Caroline Chapman 4.
The sixth grade girls will be playing in Jim Ned this Saturday.
6th Grade Boys
The sixth grade boys were moving a little slow during the first half of their home game with Jim Ned on Saturday morning, according to coach John Tom Heatly.
“I think our boys were still asleep,” he said. “Jim Ned has some really tall boys and they were well coached. We had a 6-5 lead at the half.”
Albany played much better in the second half, though the coach said that they still have room for improvement.
“I was extremely proud of the boys’ efforts, especially Brody Oliver fronting the high post; it changed the tone of the game,” said the coach. “The boys played exceptional defense as well, only giving up two points in second half. However, we still need to get better in some areas, especially free throws.”
Albany defeated Jim Ned 16-7.
Scoring were Huffman Heatly 8, Calhan Fairchild 6, Aaden Mendez 1, and Mason McCloy 1.
Eleven missed free throws ended up costing Albany their next game with Stamford.
“This was a great game!” John Tom Heatly said. “Stamford has a couple of really good players, and they are very aggressive. The score went back and forth the entire game.”
The coach said that Albany fought hard, battling back from eight points down at one point, and they were deadlocked 20-20 at the buzzer.
“We had several chances to win in regulation, but just couldn’t get the ball in the basket,” the coach said. “In overtime they hit a three pointer to start; we got behind, and again had trouble getting shots to fall. We lost 28-24.”
Leading the scoring for Albany were Cade Fair-child 10, Huffman Heatly 6, Calhan Fairchild 2, McCloy 2, Woods Peterson 2, and Oliver 2.
“We will be playing in Merkel next Saturday,” John Tom Heatly said. “We are trying to move the game times so the boys can play and participate in the stock show.”
Schedule
The next round of games will take place this Saturday, Jan. 25, during the Shackelford County Youth and Livestock Show.
The Albany fifth grade teams, both boys and girls, will not play basketball on Jan. 25 due to scheduling conflicts.
The sixth grade girls will play in Jim Ned High School’s second gym on Jan. 25, with games scheduled for 9:00 a.m. with Clyde Gold, and at 11:00 a.m. with Clyde Black.
The sixth grade boys games will be held in Merkel this Saturday. Albany’s first game is set for 10:00 a.m. in the Merkel main gym with Clyde Black. The local boys’ second game is at the same location at 2:00 p.m. with Eula.
Clyde and Jim Ned will be the destinations on Saturday, Feb. 1.
