By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions moved up to No. 11 in the Texas Girls Coaches Association Class 2A volleyball poll after sweeping a pair of Class 1A opponents in District 6-2A competition.

The Lady Lions improved to 18-3 overall by defeating Moran 25-12, 25-8, 25-12 at Moran on Sept. 7, then beat Newcastle 25-16, 25-12, 25-7 Saturday at home.

“The girls had a strong week, winning both games in three sets each,” Lady Lions coach M.J. Reneau said.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions were looking to clean up the mistakes that hampered them in their season opener against Dublin when they made their second outing of the season last Friday.

While there were still a couple of bumps along the way, the Lions took care of business well enough to defeat the Hamlin Pied Pipers 50-0 at Hamlin’s Piper Stadium.

First Home Game

After scheduling three road games to open the season, Albany finally gets to play its home opener at 7:00 p.m. this Friday when the Haskell Indians visit Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Lady Bulldogs dropped both of their varsity volleyball matches, while the junior high team opened its season last week.

On Aug. 31, the Lady Bulldogs lost 25-18, 25-19, 25-20 at home to Gustine.

“They showed a lot of improvement from when we played Gustine Aug. 17,” coach Jo Hise said. “They hustled for every point.”

On Saturday, Moran lost 25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 25-10 in a District 2-6A match at Newcastle. Hise said extending the match after falling behind 2-0 was a significant step for her team.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldogs showed some improvement last Friday in their second outing of the football season, but not enough to avoid a 51-6 loss to Class 1A Division I opponent Evant in their home opener at Bulldog Field.

“There was a little progress,” Moran coach John Hughes said. “There are things to work on, but our biggest problem is still our numbers. We made it past halftime, and that was a big positive.”

The Bulldogs (0-2) finished with 25 total yards and three turnovers.

By Sam Waller

Albany Junior High School football teams opened their seasons last Thursday against Dublin.

The Cubs eighth grade team won 40-8, while the seventh grade engaged in a controlled scrimmage with Albany posting a 3-0 scoring advantage.

In the eighth grade game, Shawn Keen and Huffman Heatly each scored two touchdowns. Mason McCloy had an interception, and Brodey Oliver recovered a fumble on defense.

“The Cubs had a good first outing,” eighth grade coach David Fairchild said.

By Sam Waller

Seven Albany athletes opened the cross country season Sept. 1 by competing at the Haskell Cross Country Meet.

“This first meet gave the kids a chance to see where they are and where they need to be as far as conditioning and pace,” Albany coach Tate Thompson said. “It also shows how important the workouts are – how important it is for them to push themselves in practice so that they are able to perform in meets.”

Because of a malfunction with the timing system, official times were unavailable. Reported times were kept by the coaches.

By Sam Waller

The team of Walker and Anderson cruised to a six-stroke victory Sunday in the Championship Flight at the annual Albany Labor Day Golf Tournament.

Walker and Anderson posted a two-day score of 120 to finish ahead of Channer and Everett (126) and Barton and Owens (127).

A total of 40 two-person teams competed in the scramble format.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions junior varsity football team defeated Dublin 44-6 last Thursday at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Lute Wheeler passed for three touchdowns, and Ashton Bailey scored three times, twice on punt returns. Cason Fairchild caught two scoring passes, and Branson Beal also had a receiving touchdown.

Fairchild, Bryson Herr­ing, and Tyler Chapman had interceptions.

By Sam Waller

Albany’s junior high volleyball teams opened their seasons Aug. 31 by sweeping their respective matches at Woodson.

The seventh grade Lady Cubs got things started with a 25-13, 25-17 victory.

Amber Miramontes was high server with 18 points, followed by Charlee Hefner with five, Zayne Lefevre and Tatum Grady with three apiece, and Ashlyn Miller with two.

“The girls played well and are figuring out their positions,” seventh grade coach Ginger Norton said.

In the eighth grade match, Albany won 25-12, 25-18.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions had their way against a pair of Class 1A opponents last week in District 2-6A volleyball action last week, sweeping both matches in three sets.

On Aug. 31, Albany defeated Woodson on the road, winning 25-6, 25-8, 25-10. 

On Saturday at home, the Lady Lions dispatched Abilene Texas Leadership Charter Academy (TLC) 25-3, 25-4, 25-5.