Big Country Rewind: No. 9 Albany rolls past Cross Plains; Merkel fights off Eastland
ALBANY – London Fuentes threw three touchdown passes and ran for another as No. 9 Albany blasted Cross Plains 56-0 in a District 6-2A Division II game Friday at Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.
Fuentes, who completed 8 of 11 passes for 182 yards and no interceptions, threw a 53-yard TD pass to Coy Lefevre and an 83-yard TD pass to Adam Hill. He also threw a 1-yard TD pass to Tyler Chapman and scored on a 29-yard run.
Lefevre ran for 127 yards on six carries, including TD runs of 83 and 10 yards. Hill, who had a 63-yard TD run, had 76 yards on five carries, and he also caught three passes for 89 yards.
Cason Fairchild returned an interception 18 yards for another Lions’ score.
Albany rolled up 474 yards, including 280 rushing.
Albany (5-2 overall, 2-0) plays Roscoe (4-2, 2-0) on Friday in Roscoe in a showdown between the last two unbeaten teams in the league. Cross Plains (5-2, 0-2) hosts Hamlin (5-2, 1-1) on Friday.
Merkel fends off Eastland
At Eastland, Conner Willyerd ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter, to lead Merkel past Eastland 34-28 in a District 5-3A Division II game.
Joey Zink ran for 123 yards on 22 carries, while he also completed 7-of-10 passes for 109 yards, including TD passes of 40 and 6 yards to Bryant Jones. Elijah Olivarez also had a 3-yard TD run for the Badgers (3-4, 2-0).
Isaiah Hays completed 9-of-15 passes for 156 yards and three TDs – all to Jay Oznick – to lead Eastland (0-7, 0-2).
Oznick also ran for 98 yards and a TD on 14 carries.
Though the game was tied at 7 to end the first quarter and 14 at halftime, Eastland never took the lead until Hays threw a 55-yard TD pass to Oznick in the third quarter to give the Mavericks a 21-14 advantage.
But Zink threw his second TD pass to Bryant, a 6-yarder, in the third quarter, and Willyerd ran for TDs of 9 and 7 yards to give the Badgers a 34-21 lead in the fourth quarter.
No. 2 Hawley defrosts Blizzards
At Winters, Austin Cumpton ran for 138 yards and four TDs to power No. 2 Hawley past Winters 60-6 in a District 4-2A DII game.
Rodey Hooper completed 5 of 6 passes for 215 yards, including TD passes of 80 and 63 yards to Kason O’Shields and Diontay Ramon, respectively.
Allyn Barker also ran for two TDs, and Keagan Ables ran for another for the Bearcats (7-0, 3-0).
Hawley plays Olney (5-2, 1-2) on Friday in Hawley, while Winters (1-7, 0-4) plays at Colorado City (0-7, 0-3).
Vernon topples No. 5 Breckenridge
At Vernon, Vernon scored two fourth-quarter TDs to snap a 14-14 tie and held on to hand No. 5 Breckenridge it’s first loss of the season in a District 3-3A Division I game.
Vernon (5-2, 2-0) led 14-0 at halftime, but the Buckaroos (6-1, 1-1) scored twice in the third quarter to tie the game at 14.
The Bucks play Jim Ned (4-3, 2-0) on Friday in Breckenridge.
Jim Ned edges Clyde
At Tuscola, Jim Ned beat Clyde 28-21 in a District 3-3A DI game.
The win leaves Jim Ned (4-3, 2-0) as the last unbeaten team in district along with Vernon, which stunned Breckenridge on Friday.
Tucker Jones threw for 200 yards and three TDs for Clyde. Connor Hawk caught seven passes for 116 yards and two TDs, and Dai’Jon Booker had four catches for 62 yards and a TD.
Clyde (4-3, 0-2) at Bowie (0-7, 0-2) on Friday.
Snyder puts bite on Graham
At Snyder, Easton Stewart threw for 282 yards and five TDs, including three to Dyllan Angeley, to lead Snyder past Graham 35-21 in a District 3-4A DII game.
Angeley had TD catches of 6, 18, 6 and 21 yards for the Tigers (3-5, 1-1). Jay Castillo also had a 32-yard TD catch.
Ty Thompson threw TD passes to Rylan Monsey and Brayden Riggins for the Steers (4-4, 0-2), who were playing without some players after last week’s game-ending brawl against Wichita Falls Hirschi that resulted in a double-forfeit after the Huskies used an ineligible player too.
Porter Johnston had a 90-yard kickoff return for Graham.
No. 10 Coleman bounces back
At Hamilton, Jadin Jackson threw for 207 yards and three TDs and ran for two more as No. 10 Coleman rebounded from last week’s 16-6 loss to Tolar with a 42-7 win over Hamilton.
Jackson threw TD passes of 50 and 41 yards to Hagan Cavanaugh and Keaton Beets, respectively, as well as a 28-yarder to Braxton Smith.
Jackson, who also ran for 66 yards on 13 carries, had TD runs of 2 and 4 yards, and Ryland Gentry (10-64 rushing) had a 17-yard TD run.
Coleman (6-2, 3-1) has a bye before going playing De Leon (4-4, 1-3) in a District 5-3A DII game in Coleman. Tolar beat De Leon 50-7 on Friday.
Idalou overcomes Coahoma
At Idalou, Idalou beat Coahoma 28-16 in a District 4-3A DII game.
The Wildcats improved to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in district.
Boyd Cox threw for 272 yards and a TD for Coahoma (5-2, 1-1). Austin Perkins had seven catches for 104 yards and a TD. Jaidyn Vineyard also ran for a TD.
The Bulldogs host Stanton (2-5, 0-2) on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Albany beats Cross Plains in football game; Merkel overcomes Eastland
