By Donnie A. Lucas
Coach Denney Faith is ready to see the 2020 version of the Albany Lions in action, and he certainly isn’t alone.
The Lion football team will make its debut on Thursday (tonight) in a scrimmage match-up against the Hawley Bearcats. The JV will start the action in Hawley at 5:00 p.m., followed by the varsity team.
No admission will be charged but a 50 percent capacity ruling is in effect, so fans should be prepared for changes.
Barrett Beal keeps his eyes on his receiver during a triple digit practice earlier this week. After a summer of wondering if they were going to get to play, the Lions are looking forward to lining up against Hawley today.
By Donnie A. Lucas
High school cross country runners are continuing to work out in preparation for the season, with the first meet set for Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Seven girls are participating in the daily training, but only three will actually be competing at the meets.
“I have three girls who will be going to meets, with the other four opting to run in order to stay in shape for other sports,” coach Tate Thompson said.
The opening meet is set for Wednesday, Sept. 2 in Haskell. Albany will run in the 9:00 a.m. heat.
By Lynsi Musselman
The Moran football team had its first scrimmage of the year against Baird last Friday, Aug. 14.
Moran football coach John Hughes said the scrimmage went well, with positives and negatives, but overall the players did a good job.
“We have a shot at being competitive and making the playoffs,” Hughes said. “Our schedule overall has some tough teams and some teams we have to beat to feel good about ourselves going into district play.”
By Donnie A. Lucas
The varsity Lady Lions won three out of four scrimmages last week to start the 2020 season.
Albany hosted a set of varsity-only scrimmages against Lingleville and Benjamin on Friday, then traveled to Breckenridge for scrimmages against the Lady Bucks and Wichita Falls Hirschi on Saturday.
The regular season opened on Tuesday at home with the Lady Lions defeating the Lady Bucks 25-23, 25-23, 25-17. Details of the match will be reported next week.
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lion football team is closing in on two full weeks of workouts for the 2020 season, with another week on the practice field before their first contact with an opponent.
The lone scrimmage of the season is set for Thursday, Aug. 20 in Hawley starting at 5:00 p.m. The University Interscholastic League is limiting all teams to only one scrimmage this season in an attempt to limit the spread of the -COVID-19 coronavirus.
The Lions have a roster of 46 players this season for the varsity and JV squads.
By Lynsi Musselman
The Lady Bulldogs started volleyball action last Saturday, Aug. 8, with a scrimmage against Loraine.
Moran volleyball coach Jo Hise reported that the team played well, and they were able to make adjustments and focus on rotation.
“We have a couple of areas where we need more practice,” Hise said.
Moran will host Munday this Saturday, Aug. 15 at 11:00 a.m.
Football
The Bulldogs football team is in its second week of two-a-days with 12 players on the roster.
By Donnie A. Lucas
A total of 46 players showed up for the first day of summer football on Monday, including 12 seniors who are returning for a final season.
“The first day of practice went well,” head football coach Denney Faith. “The guys were in relatively good shape, especially the ones who came to the conditioning sessions this summer, plus we had great weather.”
By Donnie A. Lucas
A total of 40 high school girls showed up on Monday for the first day of two-a-day practices, which will give coach M.J. Reneau the opportunity to put three full teams on the court this season.
The teams have continued practicing a total of five hours each day through Thursday (today), with varsity scrimmages set for Friday and scrimmage matches for all three teams on Saturday in Breckenridge.
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Albany Little League Minors played all the way to the championship game last week in the district tournament, falling to Wylie 13-7 in the finale.
Meanwhile, the younger machine pitch team also advanced to the championship, winning the title with a 16-11 rematch against the Wylie Scrappers.
Albany also fielded a major league team that lost 10-0 to the Abilene Dixie Dodgers in the first round.
