The Albany Lions battled through a slow first half and a ball-control strategy from Quanah before surging in the second half to earn a 35 to 15 win Friday night in Holliday. The playoff victory sends Albany into a highly anticipated regional matchup against defending state champion Muenster.
The Albany Lions opened the playoffs with a strong showing Thursday night in Graham, powering past Santo 34–18 to secure the Bi-District championship and extend their postseason run.
Albany controlled the pace from the start, stacking up 429 yards of total offense and moving the chains 24 times. The Lions leaned on a balanced attack that kept Santo guessing—154 yards rushing paired with 275 yards through the air.
For the first time in school history, the Albany Lions completed district play without allowing a single point, defeating Hamlin 33-0 on Friday night to claim the outright District 6-2A Division II championship.
For Brian Woodyard, the rush of a wrestling crowd never really goes away. Once the walk-out music hits — in his case, “Blood” by Dropkick Murphys — he says it all comes back like riding a bike. That was the feeling Saturday, Nov. 1, when he stepped through the curtain at the DoubleTree Hilton in Abilene and returned to the ring for the first time in two years.
Woodyard is known in the wrestling world as Conor Murphy, the Pub Rat — an Irish-accented brawler with a catchphrase ready for any challenger: “I’m serving up a pint of beatdown.”
The Albany Lions closed out their home schedule in dominant fashion Friday night, shutting out Roscoe 34-0 for their fourth straight district shutout. The victory moves Albany to 7-2 on the season and keeps the Lions perfect in district play heading into this week’s championship matchup at Hamlin.
The Albany Lady Lions’ season came to a close Thursday night in Clyde, where they fell to Coleman in the bi-district round, 19-25, 27-29, 19-25.
Albany entered the match shorthanded after Ashlyn Miller rolled her ankle in practice Tuesday. Her replacement was then injured early in the opening set, forcing the Lady Lions into a lineup shift from the start.
“It was not our best game, but the girls gave a great effort,” head coach MJ Reneau said. “Not having Ashlyn out there definitely hurt us, and then losing another hitter made it that much harder.”
Albany senior Chance Stewart capped his high school cross country career with a 24th-place finish out of 152 runners at the UIL State Meet Saturday, Nov. 1, in Round Rock. Stewart, a three-time state qualifier, battled a fast pace and one of the tougher courses of the season to earn the Top 25 finish.
When rain chances threatened to disrupt Friday night football, Albany and Cross Plains coaches decided to move their district game up a day. The matchup kicked off Thursday evening in Cross Plains after a joint decision was made Wednesday morning between Albany head coach Denney Faith and Cross Plains head coach Jared Sanderson.
The Albany Lady Lions closed out the regular season in dominant fashion Saturday morning inside the Albany Gym, defeating Colorado City in straight sets, 25-20, 25-16, 25-16. The win was a solid statement heading into the postseason, completing a 6-2 district slate and bringing the team’s overall record to 15-12.
Albany maintained control throughout the match, using timely serving and a balanced offensive attack to keep the Lady Wolves on their heels. The victory also marked the second time this season Albany handled Colorado City, continuing a late-season climb in confidence.
Albany senior Chance Stewart will compete at the UIL State Cross Country Meet this Saturday, Nov. 1, in Round Rock, aiming to improve on his top-10 finish at the Region 2-2A meet in Arlington on Oct. 21. Stewart posted his best time of the season, 17:18, to secure seventh place and earn his third consecutive trip to the state meet.
“Right now, Chance is going in with the 17th-best time for Class 2A,” Albany coach Ryder Peacock said. “Seventeen seconds separate seventh place from 17th, so he’s not far off the top seven going into state.”
