No. 4 Albany football dominant in Region II-2A Division II semifinal win against No. 2 Muenster

SPRINGTOWN — The Albany football team is back in the Region II-2A Division II final after a 34-21 win against Muenster. And the game wasn’t even that close.

The fourth-ranked Lions (12-0) dominated the first half, including two touchdowns off turnovers in the final two minutes to lead 28-0 at the break. It wasn't so much the first-half shutout that surprised longtime Albany head coach Denney Faith, it was the way the offense moved the ball and put up points.

"We've played really good defense all year long, so that didn't surprise us that we came out and played well defensively," Faith said. "Being able to move the ball against a good defense, that was key. We're going to keep playing good defenses, we've got to keep doing things right offensively. If we can do that, take care of the football, I feel good about this football team.

"I like them, so I'm excited to get going for the next one."

Albany opened with a three-and-out on defense, then marched 74 yards down the field, using 12 plays and taking almost seven minutes off the clock, as Cole Chapman took it in from 6 yards out to open the scoring.

The next Albany touchdown came from an 82-yard drive. This time it was Jaheim Newton capping it with another 6-yard run to go up 14-0.

That's when the defense got things going for the offense.

Luke Ivy intercepted a pass, setting up Adam Hills 15-yard TD reception. On the ensuing kickoff, Brooks Neece recovered a fumble and then capped the drive with a 1-yard run, all in the final 2:12 of the half to take a commanding four-touchdown lead.

"They do a lot of good things defensively," Faith said. "They put a lot of pressure on you. They come from every angle and there's a couple times when Cole got hit hard trying to throw the ball. Those are the kinds of things fast defenses can do to you. But we were able to get into some man coverage, we told our guys all week long, You receivers are going to have to make some plays.' In the first half, and a couple times in the second half, we did."

No. 2 Muenster (12-1) took advantage of penalties to get on the board. But Albany answered and the Hornets never threatened a comeback.

"We were really swarming (on defense)," Faith said. "They do really good things offensively. 25 is a really good running back and, of course, you saw 5 in the second half, that kid can make plays. For us to be able to shut them down like we did in the first half and then when we had to in the second half, was big."

The Lions defense added two more turnovers — both interceptions — in the second half as 12 and 21 picked off passes. The latter led to another score as Albany got 20 points off the four touchdowns.

Albany was eliminated in this round in 2020, and the second round in 2019, after winning the region and reaching the state semifinals in 2018. They will face defending state champion Windthorst in the region final.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Graham.

More: Jim Ned, Brock square off in rematch of last year's playoff thriller

More: Abilene, Big Country high school football playoff pairings, results (through Nov. 19)

More: Abilene Reporter-News high school, college, pro football staff picks: Week 14

Game summary

► Turning point: Albany scored twice in the final 2½ minutes of the first half, both off turnovers. Luke Ivy’s interception led to the Chapman to Hill TD pass. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Neece recovered a fumble and finished the drive himself on a 1-yard run.

► Player of the game: Jaheim Newton, RB, Albany — Once Newton gets going, it’s hard to slow him. That’s true during runs and during the game. He finished the night with 163 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries as he was the go-to back when the Lions needed to make something happen.

► Key stat: Both of Albany's first two touchdown drives had big pass plays. The first was a 27-yard completion to London Fuentes on third-and-17. On the other, it was a 32-yard pass to Coy Lefevre. On the night, Chapman averaged 17.6 yards per completion with three going over 25 yards.

► Coach Faith said: "Our defense played great getting those turnovers. Then, offensively, being able to do something with that turnover is big, it's huge. We survived another week and get to go back to work on Monday and play another one."

► Impact: The Hornets lose their first game to end their season while Albany returns to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.

► Up next: The Lions now play defending state champion Windthorst, after its 40-7 win over Santo, for the Region II-2A Division II title and berth in the state semifinals.

REGION II-2A DIVISION II SEMIFINAL

No. 4 Albany 34, No. 2 Muenster 21

Muenster 0 0 7 14—21

Albany 7 21 0 6—34

FIRST QUARTER

ALB — Cole Chapman 6 run (London Fuentes kick), 3:33

SECOND QUARTER

ALB — Jaheim Newton 6 run (Fuentes kick), 7:31

ALB — Adam Hill 15 pass from Chapman (Fuentes kick), 2:12

ALB — Brooks Neece 1 run (Fuentes kick), 0:31

THIRD QUARTER

MUE — Devon Bindel 3 run (Martie McCoy kick), 4:10

FOURTH QUARTER

ALB — Cooper Fairchild 15 pass from Chapman (run failed), 7:53

MUE — Grant Hess 15 pass from Seth Stoffels (McCoy kick), 5:59

MUE — Hess 19 pass from Stoffels (McCoy kick), 1:17

TEAM STATISTICS

……………… Mue … Alb

First downs … 18 … 26

Rushes-Yards … 18-44 … 51-263

Passing … 243 … 176

Comp-Att-Int … 17-31-3 … 10-21-0

Punts … 3-38.0 … 4-31.2

Fumbles-Lost … 21 … 0-0

Penalties-Yards … 7-70 … 13-118

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Muenster, Grant Hess 2-32, Devon Bindel 6-7, Colton Deckard 10-5; Albany, Jaheim Newton 23-163, Cole Chapman 13-63, Coy Lefevre 6-29, Brooks Neece 7-8, TEAM 1-(-3).

PASSING: Muenster, Seth Stoffels 13-25-2—199, Hess 1-1-0—36, Bindel 3-5-1—8; Albany, Chapman 10-21-0—176.

RECEIVING: Muenster, Hess 10-148, Bradley Lutkenhaus 2-43, Deckard 2-18, #15 1-19, Carson Crawford 1-13, Eli Saucer 1-2; Albany, Cooper Fairchild 4-41, Lefevre 3-60, London Fuentes 2-60, Adam Hill 1-15.

RECORDS: Muenster 12-1, Albany 12-0.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Albany football dominant in region semifinal win against Muenster