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Sports

Football: In a Loss to Campo, Albany Shows Promise

Albany played well in its season-opening loss to perennial playoff contender Campolindo.

Campolindo 21, Albany 6

The Star: Campolindo sophomore quarterback Brett Stephens completed eight of nine passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.

The Turning Point: After Albany hung in through most of the first half, Stephens hit Erik Baker for a 28-yard touchdown with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter, giving Campolindo a 14-0 lead.

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The Quote: "They showed me they have the heart and the will to play like they want to win. They showed me that they can compete, that they won't give in."  —Albany coach Scott Shevelson on his team.

What's Next?: Albany travels to Vallejo to play Vallejo High on Friday.

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Bottom Line: Though they lost, the Albany Cougars looked better than last season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, where they forced four turnovers and only allowed Campolindo to gain 175 yards of total offense.

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For the second-straight season, the Albany High football team lost its season opener to Campolindo. But after getting blown out in 2009, the Cougars hung tough Friday night, eventually falling 21-6.

So can there be cause for celebration even after a loss?

"I can't stop smiling," said Albany wide receiver Avi Rosenblum. "So what do you think?"

Any observer would think the Cougars looked vastly improved, like a team capable of crawling out of the Bay Shore Athletic League's bottom half. Against a perennial playoff contender, Albany fought for four quarters, answering coach Scott Shevelson's questions about his team's character.

"They showed me they have the heart and the will to play like they want to win," Shevelson said of his team. "They showed me that they can compete, that they won't give in."

In years past, Albany has had a finely-tuned offense paired with a struggling defense. But on Friday, the opposite was true. While the Cougars struggled to move the ball against Campolindo — they had 51 yards of total offense, including minus-12 in the first half — Albany's defense was stingy and opportunistic, forcing four turnovers and limiting Campolindo to 175 yards.

"If we had made a few plays that we missed in the first half, it could have been a completely different game," Shevelson said. "But the defense played very well, and the offense got things going at the end."

The Cougars' lone touchdown came with 11 seconds remaining in the game, on a 5-yard pass from Robert Crowley to Ben Roberson. For the night, Crowley completed six of 15 passes for 54 yards, throwing one interception.

After an anemic offensive performance in the first half, running back Akwasi Agyekum entered the game and provided a spark with several first down runs, going on to lead the team with six carries for 30 yards.

"He's inexperienced, but he's got talent and speed," Shevelson said. "He really made a difference for us."

Their final touchdown drive was aided by a couple of pass interference penalties, but on the whole the Cougars seemed powerless against Campolindo's swarming pass rush and stout run defense. Crowley was sacked eight times for a total loss of 64 yards.

"Their front four was able to get serious pressure on us," Shevelson. "We had some missed blocks, and Robert held on to the ball too long a few times, but they really created a lot of pressure."

But so did the Cougars, forcing fumbles and pouncing on loose balls, killing potential Campolindo scoring drives.

"We just fought for it," said Rosenblum. "We did we had to do to make big plays."

Campolindo coach Kevin Macy left the game impressed.

"We knew they'd be improved from last year," Macy said. "We knew they'd have more speed, and they'd be strong, and they'd play well. And they did."

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Campolindo 21, Albany 6

Campolindo 7 7 7 0 — 21

Albany 0 0 0 6 — 6

Scoring summary
2:14, 1st: C — Aaron Havel 5 pass from Nick Zolintakis (Jarrett Milner kick)
1:31, 2nd: C — Erik Baker 28 pass from Brett Stephens (Milner kick)
8:00, 3rd: C — Derick Margerum 5 run (Milner kick)
0:11, 4th: A — Ben Roberson 5 pass from Robert Crowley (kick failed)

Individual statistics
Rushing (car-yards): C — Margerum 5-26, Reiner Ebarle 5-23. A — Akwasi Agyekum 6-30, Avi Rosenblum 7-21.
Passing (comp-att-yards-ints): C — Brett Stephens 8-9-94-1, Nick Zolintakis 1-6-21-0. A — Crowley 6-15-54-1.
Receiving (Rec-yards): C — Erik Baker 2-69, Pierce Naton 3-23. A — Ben Roberson 3-24, Andy Choi 1-17.

Team offense (rushing-passing-total)
Campolindo — 76-99-175
Albany — (-15)-54-39

Fumbles/lost: C — 4/3, A — 0/0
Records: Campolindo 1-0 (0-0 DFAL), Albany 0-1 (0-0 BSAL)

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