The traditional playoff drum beating, preceded by a community pep rally at the Bank Park, will kick off the Athletic Booster Club’s special activities this week as the Albany Lions prepare for the regional final match-up with Wheeler. 

Albany will travel to Vernon for this week’s game, with the kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening, Nov. 30. 

The -Lions will face the Wheeler Mustangs, who defeated Haskell 26-12 last week at the area level. The Lions beat the Santo Wildcats 38-28 on Nov. 23 to advance to the third round of the playoffs.

In a game where the momentum shifts and keeping up with turnovers was dizzying, the Albany Lions pulled off a 38-28 area playoff win over Santo last Friday in Graham.

Albany (7-5) advances to the regional playoff this Friday against the Wheeler Mustangs (8-3) at Vernon’s Lion Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m., with Albany serving as the home team. Ticket prices are $6 for adults and $4 for students with the usual passes honored.

The varsity Lady Lions split games against opponents just before the Thanksgiving break.

Albany lost their game in Ballinger on Nov. 19, but beat Munday at home on Nov. 20.

The team returned to action this week, traveling to Hamlin on Tuesday and ending up with a close 33-37 loss. Details were not available at press time.

The varsity will play in the Dublin Tournament starting Thursday, with pool games against Crawford and Breckenridge. Bracket games will start on Friday and continue on Saturday.

The three Albany Cubs basketball teams made a clean sweep of games at home on Monday against Cross Plains.

The Cubs will travel to Stamford on Dec. 3 for a set of games starting at 5:30 p.m.

The 8A boys crushed Cross Plains 46-27 on Monday at home.

“Our offense got a big boost from our defense in this game,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “We created a lot of transition points off of our defensive pressure, and we were able to convert those into points.”

The coach commended Caden Price and London Fuentes on offense.

The District 6-A volleyball all-district team members have been chosen, and six Lady Bulldogs were honored, including Johnnie Hise who won one of the superlative awards.

Freshman Johnnie Hise was named the district’s Newcomer of the Year. 

Hise and her teammates took Moran to the playoffs for the first time in 24 years, placing third in district before falling to Northside in the bi-district match. 

Coaches nominate players for all-district honors, but are not allowed to vote for their own team members.

Even though the Moran Bulldogs did not advance into post-season play this year, over half of the varsity team members were recognized by the district coaches for their performance on the gridiron by being named to the all-district football team.

Moran plays six-man football in District 6-A division II.

Coaches nominate players for the all-district honors but can not vote for their own players.

Senior Kobee Lapp was named to the first team as a receiver/tight end. Also placed on the first team was junior Jonas Cadena in the linebacker position.

The girls junior high basketball teams traveled to Haskell and Cross Plains for games over the last week and a half.

All three teams lost in Haskell on Nov. 19 and split games against Cross Plains on Monday, Nov. 26.

The 7A team beat Cross Plains 42-6.

“We have been working on our press without success, but it clicked for us this week and the girls ran it well,” seventh grade coach Lauren Peacock said. “We created several turnovers, which resulted in several lay-ups for Robin Lucas and Kiana Roberson.”

Albany fans are invited to join in several of the activities planned by the Albany Athletic Booster Club to help motivate the Lions to be at the top of their game for Friday’s playoff bout with the Santo Wildcats at Newton Field in Graham. 

Kickoff for the area game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 23.

Thursday Activities

Students and fans will gather at Bank Park for a community pep rally Thursday evening Nov. 22, starting at 7:30 p.m. 

A decisive win last week by the Lion football team in the first round of the playoffs sets up what the team, coaches and fans all hope will be another “traditional” playoff run for Albany.

Albany defeated the Rocksprings Angoras 47-7 at San Angelo Stadium, propelling the Lions to the next step in the Class 2A  Div. 2 playoffs, something some might have doubted earlier in the season after a surprising 0-5 non-district start.

The Lions (6-5) will face the Santo Wildcats (10-1), who are fresh off a 63-30 win over Quanah last Friday in Clyde.

The varsity Lady Lions split games on the road last week, and suffered a second loss this week to put their record at 3-2.

The girls were on the road Monday, losing to Ballinger 47-37. Due to an early deadline, details from the game will be reported next week.

Albany also hosted Munday on Tuesday before taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, but results were not available at press time.

Both the varsity and JV teams are scheduled to be on the road to Hamlin next Tuesday for a set of games starting at 4:00 p.m.