By Donnie A. Lucas

The varsity girls volleyball team took two area opponents to four sets last week, coming up short in two close matches against Jim Ned and Abilene Christian High School.

Albany faced another tough opponent at home on Tuesday, posting a hard-fought 23-25, 24-26, 25-13, 25-21, 15-9  win over Eastland. Details from the match were not available at press time but will be published next week.

The varsity will be on the road Thursday to play in the Dublin Tournament, with bracket play starting Saturday.

By Kathy Thomson

The Moran football team traveled to Baird for the first scrimmage of the year last Friday, Aug. 16, and new head coach John Hughes had his first chance to see the Bulldogs matched up against players from other schools.

The scrimmage was a four-way event between Moran, Baird, Water Valley, and Abilene Christian.

“Overall, the guys did well for the first scrimmage,” said Hughes. “There were some mistakes, which is expected, but I was extremely pleased with how we performed.”

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Lady Lions won four out of five games in the Albany Summer Slam Tournament last week to capture the consolation trophy in the Gold Bracket.

The regular season opened last Tuesday with a loss at Jim Ned, followed by dropping a rematch against the Lady Indians this week in Albany.

The Lady Lions fell to Jim Ned the second time in a hard-fought four-set matchup 21-25, 17-25, 26-24, 20-25. Complete game results were not available at press time but will be reported next week.

By Donnie A. Lucas

With almost two weeks of practice under their belts, the Albany Lions are itching for some competition.

The JV and varsity Lions will travel to Coleman on Friday for a set of scrimmages starting at 5:30 p.m. with junior varsity. The varsity scrimmage will follow.

The Lions will open home action at Robert Nail Stadium next Thursday, Aug. 22 against the Anson Tigers in the second and final scrimmage.

By Donnie A. Lucas

High school cross country runners continue to work out in the mornings in preparation for the season, with practices moving to 6:30 a.m. with the start of school on Thursday.

Coach Tate Thompson said that he only has four girls and one boy consistently showing up for workouts at the high school level. He originally thought he would have twice that number of girls, but injuries and participation in other sports have thinned the numbers down.

By Kathy Thomson

The Lady Bulldogs defeated Loraine last Saturday, Aug. 10, in their season opener on the road.

Moran won in straight sets 25-17, 27-25, 25-15.

The varsity girls will travel to Lingleville for 11:00 a.m. match on Saturday, Aug. 17, and then host Rotan in Bulldog gym on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 5:00 p.m.

The girls will face tournament action in Gorman Aug. 22-24 and in Lingleville Aug. 29-31 before finishing pre-district action in Lingleville on Sept. 10.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Three Albany baseball players have been recognized with spots on the Class 2A all-state baseball team by the Texas Sports Writers Association.

Cade Neve, who was a sophomore last spring, was named to the third team all-state as a pitcher. He was a first-team pick for the All-Big Country team with an 11-3 record on the mound. He had an ERA of 1.56 and struck out 83 batters.

Senior Joshua Dyer received honorable mention as a relief pitcher and short stop from the TSWA.

By Kathy Thomson

Albany sports fans are invited to attend the Athletic Booster Club’s annual hamburger supper next Monday, Aug. 12 at 6:00 p.m. in the Bank Park. 

“Everybody is welcome; it’s a community event,” said Booster secretary Tisha Wilkins. “The ice cream is free! The hamburger meal is $7.”

Serving will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the program to follow. 

By Donnie A. Lucas

A total of eight girls and one boy are participating in cross country summer workouts, according to coach Tate Thompson.

The runners met on Monday to plan for the season, starting workouts on Tuesday morning.

The coach said that he doesn’t have any runners returning from last year’s high school team, but some of the team did participate as eighth graders last year.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Between team camp, the start of two-a-day practices and a set of scrimmages on Saturday, the Lady Lion volleyball players were more than busy last week.

The action continued on Tuesday with the season opener at Jim Ned on Tuesday. The varsity suffered a 29-31, 19-25, 19-25 loss to the 3A Lady Indians. The JVI lost 22-25, 10-25, while the JVII fell 25-15, 20-25, 11-15. Details of the games will be reported next week.