By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team saw its winning streak come to a disappointing end last week, but wasted no time in starting a new one.

The Lady Lions (21-4) hosted Snyder on Tuesday, Sept. 12, winning 25-18, 25-9, 26-24. Details will be reported next week.

Albany has two matches remaining before the start of District 6-2A play. On Saturday, Sept. 16, the Lady
Lions visit De Leon with junior varsity starting at 10:00 a.m. The final nondistrict match is Tuesday, Sept. 19 at home against Strawn.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions stepped up to meet the challenge Friday, Sept. 8 in defeating the Seymour Panthers 41-14 at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

The Lions (3-0) visit the Hawley Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15 in a highly anticipated matchup of reigning state champions at Forrest Field.

Against Seymour, Albany employed an overwhelming rushing attack and stifling defense to turn a close game into a comfortable victory. Seymour was down six midway through the third quarter, but the Lions scored on their next three possessions to pull away.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldogs stumbled in their second outing of the football season Friday, Sept. 1, falling 54-6 at Baird.

The Bulldogs (1-1) return to action Friday, Sept. 8, when Aspermont visits Bulldog Field.

At Baird, two early turnovers put Moran in a hole it couldn’t get out of.

“The biggest problem is we were down 14-0 in, like, 90 seconds,” Moran coach John Hughes said. “Baird kicked off to us twice, and we fumbled both kickoffs. If you take away that 14 points, it could have been 14-6 going into halftime, and we’re in the game.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany cross country program made its second outing of the season Wednesday, Aug. 30, with seven runners competing at Haskell.

The next meet will be Wednesday, Sept. 13 at Hawley.

At Haskell, Albany runners competed well with 136 competitors in the varsity girls race and 117 in the varsity boys race.

“This course was a challenge compared to our last race at Jim Ned, and they were able to stay within a close time range with the challenge,” coach Lauren Peacock said.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions junior varsity football team scored on offense, defense, and special teams Thursday, Aug. 31 in defeating Dublin 38-0 to open the season.

The Lions JV returns to action at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, at Seymour.

“I thought our backs ran hard, and our offensive line did a good job,” coach David Fairchild said. “Defensively, Breylon Billington, Ryan Turner, Brody Oliver, and Jaxson Street played well.”

Shawn Keen ran for two touchdowns, while Aaden Mendez had TDs passing and rushing.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions volleyball team avenged an early loss and pushed its winning streak to 16 matches with a pair of wins last week.

On Tuesday, Sept. 5, the Lady Lions (19-3) visited Benjamin for a rematch of their preseason scrimmage, losing 25-5, 25-17, 25-16. Details will be reported next week.

Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau announced a scheduling change for this weekend.

“Tolar double-booked for Saturday, so we had to change that,” she said. “We’ve got X Academy coming to us at 4:30 p.m. Friday. That opens up the weekend for us.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions took a step forward in their second outing of the season Friday, Sept. 1, rolling to a 55-7 victory over the Dublin Lions in the home opener at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

Albany (2-0) makes its second home appearance at 7:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, when the Seymour Panthers (2-0) visit.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs enjoyed a productive week with the volleyball team recording its first win of the season on Thursday, Aug. 24, while the football team opened its schedule Friday, Aug. 25 by beating Lohn 40-0.

Football

Ellis Hise rushed for 214 yards and three touchdowns in addition to throwing a TD pass as the Bulldogs rolled past the Eagles.

Moran looks to build on that success Friday, Sept. 1 with a visit to Baird.

Against Lohn, Moran led 20-0 in the first quarter.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs and Albany Lions JV get their football seasons underway Thursday, Aug. 31 (today) with games at Dublin.

The action starts with the seventh grade at 4:30 p.m., followed by the eighth grade at 6:00 p.m. and JV at 7:30 p.m.

Albany athletic director Ryder Peacock, who is coaching the junior high with Tate Thompson, said he expects the seventh grade to be conducted more as a scrimmage than a full game.

“I’m not sure what the plan is,” Peacock said Monday. “We’ll just play it by ear and see.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Lady Cubs split a pair of volleyball matches against Hawley on Monday, Aug. 28, at home as the season entered its second week.

All three teams – Red, White and Silver – will be in action Thursday, Sept. 7 at Bangs in their first road matches. The Silver team will play at 4:30, followed by the White team. The matches will be Thursday because of the Labor Day holiday.