Lions win one for Faith, top Mart in 2A DII title game
Box Score
ARLINGTON, Texas — The 344th win is now the sweetest one of all.
Denney Faith’s 2022 Albany Lion squad proved to be the one to get him an elusive state championship and coming short in four previous title games before. He now has 344 career wins, passing Jim Streety for fifth all-time in Texas high school football history behind Phil Donaher, G.A. Moore, Randy Allen and Gordon Wood.
This group of Lions would not be denied Wednesday night, taking it to previously unbeaten and heavily favored Mart 41-21 to claim the program’s first state title since 1961.
Faith said, “I’m so proud of our kids and our community. They practiced all week long with confidence. We really felt good going in and thought we had a good plan. Our kids were able to execute. When you’ve got good kids that don’t mind getting coached hard and you can execute you always stand a chance.”
Albany head coach Denney Faith
Albany got a fortuitous break before the opening kick-off. The Lions won the toss, deferred and Mart mistakenly opted to kick instead of receive. That meant Albany got the ball to start both the game and the second half, which played a part in the Lions pushing a 28-14 halftime lead into a 34-14 advantage.
“I thought our offensive line came out the second half, especially that first drive, and just took it down the field and I felt like that really took the game not over, but we really felt confident after we were able to do that that first drive coming out in the second half,” Faith stated.
Mart head coach Kevin Hoffman was in awe of the Lions physicality. “We knew it going in they were bigger than we are. They’re as physical as any team we’ve played. These guys got after it. We haven’t faced a team like that all year.”
Albany RB Coy Lefevre powers in for a second quarter touchdown
The Lions took the lead in the first quarter when they cashed in on a turnover. London Fuentes picked off an errant Mart pass and Coy Lefevre scored his first of four touchdowns seven plays later to give Albany a 7-0 lead.
The Panthers answered to tie it at 7-7, but Lefevre scored two more times in the second quarter and Adam Hill scored on a 27-yard run as the Lions took a 28-14 lead into the locker room at the half.
Albany continued to force its will on Mart in the third quarter as Lefevre scored on a three-yard run and quarterback Cole Chapman outran the Panther defense for a 52-yard touchdown to put the Lions on top 41-21. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.
Cole Chapman races in for a 52-yard touchdown run
The Lions picked up 311 yards rushing on the night and outgained a Panther team that came into the game averaging 57 points per game 404 to 318.
Lefevre was named the 2A DII championship game offensive MVP after rushing for 65 yards and four touchdowns. Chapman led the way with 129 yards on the ground and threw for 93 more yards and Adam Hill ran for 102 yards and a score and led the team with three catches for 71 yards.
Faith said, “I have puke on my shoe because he’s coming off the field throwing up and I take him out of the game and he gets mad at me. I said, ‘Coy, you’re throwing up all over the field.’ He said, ‘I don’t care, I want to play.’ That’s the kind of kid he is. He’s competing, playing hard, doing everything he had to do both sides of the ball. He’s just a great athlete is what he is.”
Wyatt Windham was in on 17 tackles in the game and earned defensive MVP honors. Tye Edgar was in on 12 tackles and recorded two sacks.
Faith’s squads had come up shy in championship games in 1991, 2009, 2014 and 2015, but winning this game can help ease most of the pain from those defeats. "This 2022 team has won a state championship not only for themselves but they won it for a lot of other guys that have sacrificed and done everything they could to get themselves in this kind of position. This group was able to get over the top. I’m just so proud of them and so glad for our community that wanted this so bad. I just can’t say enough good things about growing up in a small town and playing football in town like Albany, Texas that is passionate about the game and passionate about the kids. It’s just an awesome, awesome feeling,” Faith said.
Chapman added, “It feels amazing. Especially thinking we’d never be here when I got hurt and getting back and finally winning one for coach feels amazing.”
Faith declined to talk about whether or not he’d be coaching again next year, saying he hasn’t even thought about it.
He, his team, and the entire community will be savoring this win for quite some time, whether Faith decides to go out on top or come back and win some more.
