By Sam Waller

The calendar has just ticked over to February, but that qualifies as springtime in Texas high school sports.

The Albany Lions and Lady Lions have begun practicing for baseball and softball, while track, tennis, and golf programs are also gearing up. All spring sports teams are scheduled to be in competition by the end of the month.

Softball will start things off at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14 against Eastland at Webb Park before spending that weekend at the Eastland tournament.

By Sam Waller

Three Albany Lions football players were honored for their achievements in the classroom with inclusion on the Texas High School Coaches Association’s Academic All-State team.

Cole Chapman earned second team honors, while Coy Lefevre and Keatin Russell received honorable mention.

More than 4,100 students from across Texas achieved the honor.

By Sam Waller

Albany Lions head baseball coach David Fairchild was inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame at its banquet Saturday, Jan. 28.

Fairchild, a 1987 graduate of Bonham, was inducted for his coaching accomplishments, which include a career record of 437-174-4 and two trips to the state tournament.

After graduating from Texas Tech in 1993, Fairchild began his coaching career at Port Lavaca. He was named head baseball coach at Savoy after a year at Port Lavaca and held the same position at Lockney and Ballinger before coming to Albany in 2003.

By Sam Waller

The Albany youth basketball teams wrapped up their regular seasons Saturday, Jan. 28, getting five wins and a tie in games played at Hawley and Merkel.

The teams will take part in postseason tournaments Saturday, Feb. 4, at Eula. All four brackets will have six teams with all teams guaranteed two games.

Sixth Grade Girls

At Merkel, the sixth grade girls split their two games, losing to Eula 25-20 before beating Hawley 21-4.

By Sam Waller

The Albany junior high basketball teams saw their seasons come to an unexpectedly early end this week with the winter weather afflicting the area playing a large part.

The Cubs and Lady Cubs were to have played Stamford on Monday, Jan. 30 to wrap up the schedule. Those games were postponed to Thursday, Feb. 2 (tonight), as District 10-2A high school games scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 31, were moved up a day in an attempt to beat the oncoming storm.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions suffered through another frustrating week in the District 10-2A girls basketball race with losses to Haskell and Hamlin.

After having the district bye on Tuesday, Jan. 31, Albany (8-18 overall, 1-9 district) visits Stamford at 6:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3.

The Lady Lions make their final home appearance of the season at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, when Anson visits the AHS gym for senior night.

The district schedule is in flux after a winter storm forced postponement of all Tuesday games this week.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions are on the cusp of clinching a spot in the boys basketball playoffs after sweeping their District 10-2A games last week against Haskell and Hamlin.

Entering an open date on Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Lions (10-3 overall, 6-2 district) were one game away from qualifying and could clinch if both Haskell and Stamford lost earlier in the week.

Albany visits Stamford at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3. A win in that game would also assure the Lions a playoff bid.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions, along with fellow state champion football teams from Hawley, Benjamin, and Westbrook, were honored Sunday, Jan. 22 at a reception hosted by the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame at the Mall of Abilene.

Loraine players and coaches, who lost to Benjamin in the Class 1A Division II state game, were also recognized.

“It gave us a chance to talk about the game one more time,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said “We got to see some highlights, and a lot of people from the Big Country who didn’t get to go to the game congratulated our kids.”

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs basketball teams battled sickness and opponents last week with the situation continuing into this week.

The Lady Bulldogs hosted Cross Plains on Tuesday, Jan. 24, but the boys game was postponed to Wednesday, Jan. 25, because of too many players being out sick. Results will be reported next week.

Health issues forced Moran to forfeit games against Eula on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

On Friday, Jan. 20, the Lady Bulldogs lost 26-24 at home to Baird, while the boys lost 54-28.

Girls Basketball

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions continue to receive recognition for their performance in winning the 2022 Class 2A Division II state championship, claiming 17 spots on the All-Big Country Preps football teams released last week.

Albany had 12 players honored with four selected on both offense and defense. That was topped off by head coach Denney Faith sharing the Coach of the Year superlative award with Hawley’s Mitch Ables.