Both junior high basketball teams were able to put a tally or two in the win column this week, though the varsity teams did not fare as well.

The varsity teams were scheduled to play in Baird on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Results were not available at press time.

Upcoming Games

The Eula Pirates and Lady Pirates will be in Moran on Friday, Feb. 1 for games starting at 6:30 p.m.

Moran varsity teams travel to Strawn for the Lady Bulldogs’ last game of the season at 6:00 p.m. followed by the boys match at 7:00 p.m.

High School Games

Three senior Albany -Lions have been named to the football All-Big Country Super Team, also winning Class 2A honors along with several other members of the 2018 squad.

Senior Ryan Hill was voted both the Super Team and Class 2A Defensive MVP, as well as first and second team picks on both offense and defense. Hill was a two-way winner on the Super Team with first team defensive lineman and second team tight end honors. He also was named to the Class 2A first team as tight end and lineman.

The Lady Lion basketball team came up just a little short against Stamford last Friday, falling 45-42 in the final minute or two to end up tied with the Lady Bulldogs for second place in the district race.

Albany traveled to Roscoe on Tuesday, staying in contention for second after a tight 33-31 win with two regular season games remaining.

The Lady Lions will be on the road again Friday against Hawley. The JV will start at 4:00 p.m. in Hawley, with the varsity girls tipping off at 6:30 p.m.

The Lion basketball team won a barn burner at home last Friday over Stamford, coming out as the only undefeated team in the first half of the District 8-2A race.

Albany was on the road Tuesday in Roscoe, starting the second round with a 61-36 win. Details of the game will be reported next week.

The Lions will also be away on Friday, playing in Hawley with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, followed by a home game next Tuesday, Feb. 5 against Haskell. The Lions will again follow the varsity girls with about a 7:30 p.m. start.

Three of the local girls and boys fifth and sixth grade basketball teams will play games this Saturday, Feb. 2, in Clyde, but the boys sixth grade team will not play this weekend because of scheduling conflicts.

“We only have six players, even when everyone is healthy,” said coach Campbell Terry. “Four of our boys are in the stock show, so there is no way we can play this Saturday.”

The season ends the following weekend, on Feb. 9, with games in Clyde and Eula. 

This past Saturday, local teams played games in Merkel and Jim Ned.

Workouts for the upcoming baseball and softball season have started, with the softball girls scheduled to begin scrimmages as soon as Saturday.

The Lady Lions are supposed to scrimmage on Saturday in Breckenridge at 11:00 a.m., although plans are not definite since several starters are still involved in basketball. A second scrimmage is set for Thursday, Feb. 7 at home with the Lady Lions hosting Jim Ned at 5:00 p.m. The season opener is tentatively set for Feb. 12 with Albany hosting Breckenridge at 5:00 p.m.

The Albany Cubs were busy last week hosting a tournament, with both the 7A and 8A teams going undefeated.

The Cubs also won two of three games on Monday against Stamford, while the girls were on the road in Stamford, suffering a pair of losses.

The girls will compete in the Stamford Tournament on Thursday, with the eighth grade starting at 8:00 a.m. against Winters and the seventh grade set to play the winner of the Winters vs. Stamford game at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The Lion varsity basketball team has gone 4-0 in district thanks to another a pair of wins in the last week, setting up a showdown against the Stamford Bulldogs on Friday for control of the District 8-2A race.

Stamford is also 4-0 in the district race, pitting the top two teams to determine the first half winner. Tip-off at the local gym for the varsity boys is expected at about 7:30 p.m. immediately following the varsity girls game.

The second round of district action will open next Tuesday in Roscoe. Game time is again at 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Lions slipped to second place in the district race with a loss last Friday to the Haskell Maidens.

Albany opened the second half of district on Tuesday with a 43-38 win over Cross Plains. Details will be reported next week. The win improved the varsity record to 18-9 overall and 5-1 in district.

The district race continues on Friday with Albany hosting the Stamford Lady Bulldogs. Tip-off for the varsity is set for 6:30 p.m. The JV girls will also take the court against Stamford starting at 4:00 p.m.

Fifth and sixth grade youth basketball season continued with games in Eula and Stamford Jan. 19.

Both fifth grade teams brought back victories from Eula, but the sixth grade boys and girls did not fare as well in Stamford.

5th Grade Boys

The fifth grade boys are undefeated this season, improving to a 4-0 record after two wins on Saturday.

“The boys played really well in our first game against Hawley,” said coach John Tom Heatly. “The score was 18-7 at the half and 43-11 at the end, which shows how well our team played in the second half.”