With a week and a half of practices behind them, the Lion football team will host the opening scrimmage of the season Friday, Aug. 17, to officially kick off the 2018 season.

Albany is hosting the Coleman Bluecats starting at 5:30 p.m. for the junior varsity, followed by the varsity scrimmage.

There is no admission charge for the scrimmage.

The Lions will travel to Anson next Thursday, Aug. 23 for the second scrimmage, with action beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Albany Golf Club’s annual Labor Day tournament is scheduled for the upcoming holiday weekend, Saturday, Sept. 1 and Sunday, Sept. 2 at the local course. 

“We still have spots open for 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon,” said golf club president Randy Walker. “Teams will then be flighted for Sunday tee times after Saturday’s rounds.”

The entry fee for the two-person scramble is $160 per team and includes one mulligan per player per day.

The entry fee also covers a brisket meal on Saturday evening.

The 2018 volleyball season got off to a quick start last week, starting summer workouts on Wednesday and scrimmaging area teams by Friday.

Albany coaches got a good look at the 34 players vying for slots on one the three teams this season during scrimmages held Friday in Clyde and Saturday in Breckenridge.

The regular season opened on the road Tuesday against Jim Ned in Tuscola.

The varsity suffered a 20-25, 15-25, 19-25 loss in the opener, while the JV Red posted a 6-25, 13-25 loss. The JV White team was defeated 19-25, 21-25.

Numbers were up for the first day of summer football workouts on Monday, with 45 players donning shorts, shirts, and helmets as the Albany -Lions prepare for the 2018 season.

According to head coach Denney Faith, numbers on the first day of two-a-days are up by about 10 from the last two seasons, with the largest group in the last four or five seasons turning out.

Pictures for varsity and JV football players and cheerleaders have been set for this week.

Cheerleaders will meet at Nail Stadium Thursday (today) starting at 5:00 p.m. for the junior high group. The varsity squad will follow at 5:20 p.m.

Football players and coaches are scheduled for pictures at 2:00 p.m. Friday at the stadium.

An Albany baseball player has been recognized on the Class 2A All-State Baseball team.

Junior Joshua Dyer received honorable mention as a second baseman for the Lions on the annual list that is sponsored by Collin Street Bakery and the Texas Sports Writers Association.

The Lions advanced to the Region I quarterfinal, losing to DeLeon. Albany was undefeated in District 8-2A with a 10-0 record, finishing the season at 17-5-3 with playoff wins over Winters and Anthony.

A total of eight girls and one boy have shown up so far for high school cross country practices since the program started last Wednesday.

Coach Tate Thompson said that only three of the girls are returning from last year’s district meet, with the remainder participating as part of the girls basketball off-season training.

“We have been starting at 8:00 a.m. each morning with some weight training and running,” he said. “We will switch to morning practice at 6:30 a.m. two mornings per week once classes start. We will also work out some during the athletic period.”

Albany sports fans are invited to attend the Athletic Booster Club’s annual ice cream supper next Monday, Aug. 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the Bank Park. 

The Albany Lion volleyball team, cross country team, cheerleaders, and football team will be introduced at the event, and the young girls cheer camp participants are expected to perform a variety of cheers and dance routines. 

High school athletes eat free of charge, while the hamburger meal costs $7 for the general public. 

Summer workouts for volleyball started Wednesday, with about 30 high school girls showing up to get ready for the 2018 season.

Coaches and players will have only two days on the court to prepare before the first scrimmage set for Friday in Clyde.

“It is really tough having only a couple of days to  practice before scrimmages start,” head coach Kimberly Hill said. “And our first regular season game is Tuesday.”