Second-half surge carries Albany past Wheeler in Region II-2A Division II semifinal
Jordan Hofeditz
Albany 48, Wheeler 27
VERNON — After trailing 21-7 in the first half, the Albany football team got going and never slowed in Friday's 48-27 Region II-2A Division II semifinal victory over Wheeler.
The Lions (8-5) scored with 8 seconds left in the first half and then pulled within one with a touchdown to open the second half. Cameron Dacus intercepted a Wheeler pass on the ensuing drive, take it 66 yards for the score and Albany never trailed again.
“In the second half, we came out and played with a little more physicality and more intensity,” Albany coach Denney Faith said. “You get this deep in the playoffs, you can’t come out flat, you can’t afford to do that. We’ve got to take care of that and come out ready to play all the time.
"That’s a good football team, they can make you look flat sometimes. (Hesston Marshall's) got some speed and the quarterback (Gustavo Andrade) is a good kid.”
The Mustangs tied the game at 27-all, but it was all Albany from there. The Lions scored 21 straight points to pull away for the big win. Two of those scores came on defense and Albany only allowed six points in the second half.
“We have one of the best defensive coordinators (Jimmy Fuentes) in the state of Texas and he gets us ready to go every week,”said Dacus, a senior receiver/safety. “We try to do our best every time and it usually works out for us.”
After a hard-fought win, Faith noted the team may do more film work and spend less time on the practice field than usual next week.. No matter what, the Lions will be doing everything it can to prepare and be ready for Friday night's rematch with Hamlin.
“We’re ready to go to work and get ready for the next one,” Faith said. “We’re going to have to rest up a little bit, that was a good, physical football game (Friday). We’re going to have to make sure we’re good and healthy going into next week.”
Turning point: There were plenty of momentum shifts to go around, but Albany scoring to end the first half was the key. The Lions got the second-half kickoff and reeled off 13 points before Wheeler really got the ball back, the Mustangs took a knee to end the first half. From that score to the end of the game, Albany outscored Wheeler 41-6.
“That was big,” Faith said. “We got the one right before the half and then were able to get a couple going with the wind in the third quarter. Our defense scored a couple of times. If your defense can score, you put yourself in a good situation.”
Player of the game: Cameron Dacus, WR/S, Albany — There were plenty of Albany players who put in excellent efforts, but Dacus was a key part of the turnaround. Dacus caught the 32-yard TD pass just before halftime and a 20-yard catch on the first drive of the second half. He scored his third-straight TD of the game on a 66-yard interception return.
Key stat: Once again, turnovers played a big role for Albany. Blaine Kayga had an interception that turned into Albany's first score of the game. Then, Dacus had the interception returned for a touchdown and Kayga recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score. The Lions defense also got three turnover on downs.
What this means: The Lions run after starting the year 0-5 continues. Albany will play for the region title next week and are one of the last eight teams left standing.
“I know (wearing the Albany uniform) means the world to me,” Dacus said. “We had a ton of adversity at the beginning of the season and then we came out of district on fire. We’ve been on a roll ever since and are just doing our best to keep it going.”
Coach Faith said: “We know what they’re capable of, they’ve just got to be able to do it. It started out rough at the beginning of the season. We knew we had some good athletes and some kids that could step in and play, we just needed to get them in the right spot and get things going. We had an injury or two that slowed us down a little bit, but that’s all behind us now. We’re on a roll now and our kids are playing hard and playing with confidence.”
Up next: It will be a district rematch as Albany will face Hamlin. The Pied Pipers upset No. 2 Wellington to reach the region final. The Lions won the regular season contest 34-27 in the regular season final to win the District 7-2A Division II title.
More:Big Country Games of the Week: Albany vs. Santo, Windthorst vs. Hamlin