By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions split a pair of home games last week, beating Abilene TLCA and falling to Clyde, in their final outings before the start of district play.

The Lady Lions opened their District 10-2A schedule Tuesday, Dec. 13, with a 71-27 loss to Cisco. Details will be reported next week.

Albany makes its second district outing at 5:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16 at Hawley.

The third district game, which will be the final one before the holiday break, is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20 at home against Haskell.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions took a step that they’ve been waiting a year for, atoning for last season’s loss in the Class 2A Division II state semifinals, by beating New Home 53-25 on Thursday, Dec. 8 at Sweetwater’s Mustang Bowl.

The Lions turned in another dominating performance in atoning for 2021’s 35-14 loss to Stratford, scoring touchdowns on six of their first eight possessions.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Lady Bulldogs notched their second win of the season and the Bulldog boys recorded their first during a busy week, joining forces to host the Moran Holiday Tournament over the weekend.

The Moran teams resumed action Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Trent. Results will be reported next week. Both teams will take part in the Lueders-Avoca tournament Thursday-Friday, Dec. 8-9.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, Moran played a doubleheader at Paint Rock. The Lady Bulldogs lost 42-15, while the Bulldogs hung tough before falling 55-42.

By Sam Waller

Moran placed fifth overall last week at the elementary and junior high district UIL academic meet held at Cross Plains.

Contests for writing and chess were conducted Wednesday, Nov. 9 on campus. Speaking events were contested Wednesday, Nov. 30, with other events held Thursday, Dec. 1.

Moran principal Jo Hise said Moran students competed well.

“We had a lot of individuals and several teams do well,” she said. “I’m really pleased with the results.”

By Sam Waller

If the Lions advance past their Class 2A Division II state semifinal playoff, the team and its fans face a quick turnaround for the state championship game.

The winners of the Albany-New Home and Mart-Burton semifinals will meet at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. The Class 2A Division II title game will follow the Class 1A state finals earlier in the day.

All details can be found at www.uiltexas.org/football/state/football-state-championships-spectator-information

Tickets

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs and Lady Cubs basketball teams won four of five games against Hamlin on Monday, Dec. 5, with the girls sweeping at home and the boys winning two of three at Hamlin.

The junior high teams wrap up the first half of their season Monday, Dec. 12 against Anson. The boys teams will play at home starting at 5:30 p.m. The girls will play at Anson with start times to be determined.

By Sam Waller

Two Albany Lions basketball teams took part in the Albany JV Tournament last week with the JV winning two and the freshmen losing two.

Coach Ryder Peacock said the next basketball outings will probably not come until after Albany finishes its football season. The Lions are scheduled to open District 10-2A play Tuesday, Dec. 20 at home against Haskell.

Peacock said being able to field two teams allowed more players to get court time.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions basketball team surpassed their win total from last season in a busy, productive week, winning five of seven games.

The Lady Lions (6-5) began this week with a 50-17 win against Abilene TLCA on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at home.

In an addition to the original schedule, Albany will host Clyde at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9.

The Lady Lions got last week started on a positive note on Tuesday, Nov. 29 by winning 37-29 at Archer City.

By Sam Waller

The No. 6 Albany Lions showed the No. 7 Collinsville Pirates that it takes more than a high-powered offense to win in the playoffs.

Despite giving up season highs for points and yards allowed, the Lions dominated the Pirates in a 66-34 victory Friday, Dec. 2, in their Class 2A Division II state quarterfinal at Ram Stadium in Mineral Wells.

The Lions (12-2) advance to the state semifinals for the second year in a row to take on a fast-rising New Home team at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8 (tonight) at the Mustang Bowl in Sweetwater.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs and Lady Cubs basketball teams took on opponents from Cisco and Hawley the last two weeks, squeezing in their Thanksgiving break between games.

The local teams resume action Monday, Dec. 5 against Hamlin with the girls at home and the boys on the road. Games start at 5:30 p.m. at both locations.

On Monday, Nov. 21 against Cisco at home, the Lady Cubs Red team lost 48-12, and the White team lost 35-6. In Cisco, the seventh grade boys won 31-19, the eighth grade lost 37-15, and the combo team lost 23-14.