By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team enjoyed a productive week, opening District 6-2A play with a victory and reaching the Silver Bracket final at the Buckle Up For Lane’s Sake Tournament in Nocona.

The Lady Lions played  their second district match Tuesday at Woodson winning in three sets 25-6, 25-8,25-10. Details will be reported next week. 

Following Tuesday’s match at Woodson, the Lady Lions will host Abilene TLC on Saturday.

Albany began the week at 14-3 overall and 1-0 in district.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldog football team kicks off its regular season at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the Benjamin Mustangs at Benjamin’s Ben Grill Field.

“Benjamin is going to be pretty good from what I’ve seen on film,” Moran coach John Hughes said. “They’re ranked in the top 20 in the state, so that will add a little bit of excitement to our preparations.”

The Bulldogs completed their preseason last Friday with a three-team scrimmage at Gustine.

By Sam Waller

The Albany junior high football and volleyball teams began preparing for their seasons with the start of the school year.

The Lady Cubs will be the first to compete, starting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, with a combined match at Woodson.

The volleyball teams will visit Moran on Sept. 7 before hosting Abilene Christian on Sept. 13 for their home openers. That match is the only Monday date on the schedule.

The Lady Cubs are also scheduled to participate in in the Hawley tournament on Sept. 25.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Golf Club is still accepting names for a waiting list for its annual Labor Day tournament even though the tournament field is full.

“We have not had any cancellations yet,” Golf Club board member James Waters said. “We’ve got several teams on the waiting list. If we do have a cancellation, we should be able to fill it without a problem.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team remained undefeated by sweeping Olney on Aug. 17 and Eastland on Friday.

The Lady Lions were scheduled to play Ranger on Tuesday in their District 6-2A opener. 

They won easily in three sets 25-15, 25-7, 25-6, with details of that match to be reported next week.

After playing Ranger, the Lady Lions are scheduled to play in the Buckle Up for Lane’s Sake Volleyball Tournament at Nocona from Thursday (today) through Saturday.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions football team had its last dress rehearsal for the season on Thursday, Aug. 19, with its second scrimmage against the Hawley Bearcats.

Now, the Lions turn their attention to Friday’s season opener at Colorado City.

“We’re excited about getting to go to Colorado City and open up the season,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “I felt like we had two good scrimmages against good football teams. I think we’ve got ourselves ready to start our season.”

By Sam Waller

Though shorthanded, the Moran Bulldogs football team had a productive outing Saturday in its scrimmage against Trent.

With just five players available, the Bulldogs managed to outscore the Gorillas 6-3 at Bulldog Field.

“I was pretty well pleased with our scrimmage,” Moran coach John Hughes said. “I only had five guys, but Trent was rotating a couple of guys in with my guys so they could get some extra work in.”

 The scrimmage pinpointed some areas that need work, but Hughes was pleased with the overall effort.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Lady Bulldogs volleyball team encountered a rough weekend at the Albany Summer Slam Tournament, dropping four matches.

In Thursday’s pool play, the Lady Bulldogs lost to Breckenridge and Abilene Christian.

“We played a ghost player because I had a girl who was sick,” Lady Bulldogs coach Jo Hise said. “We actually played five-on-six for both of those games.”

Despite the situation, Hise said the team was still able to make progress.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions cross country runners are progressing with their preseason workouts as they prepare for their first meet of the season.

“We’re slowly working our way up to the race distances we’re going to be running,” coach Tate Thompson said. “We’ve been doing more segment training, hills and things like that, instead of just running miles and miles. We’re trying to build up their endurance right now, trying to get ready to compete at this first meet.”

Albany runners will open their season Sept. 1 at Haskell.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team capped a productive opening week of the season Saturday by claiming the Gold Bracket championship of their own Albany Summer Slam Tournament.

All three Albany teams beat Olney Tuesday, with the varsity winning their matches 25-14, 25-7, 25-17. Details will be reported next week.

The girls will host Eastland on Friday, with the varsity starting the action at 4:30 p.m.

The first district game is against Ranger at the local gym. on Tuesday, Aug. 24. The JV2 will start at 4:30 p.m.