Worth County crashed and burned in Albany Friday 36-34 after ripping off three wins in their first three games. They had every right to expect a win over Albany, who they dominated in the Jamboree 24-6 and whom they have beaten every year since 2014. Albany was playing without one of their best backs in Zavien Dierenfeldt, who was injured in the Stanberry game. But Albany's fans and players kept saying all along that this year would be different and that their high participation would finally translate. Sometimes, the only difference between two evenly matched teams is that one comes out of the gate quicker than the other one. That was what happened Friday.
Worth County forced a three and out and Braxton Hightshoe got a nice runback to the 36. But that was when the trouble started. The line was not firing off the ball or picking up Albany's blitzes, and Levi Cassavaugh was swarmed under by the green shirts at the Warrior 39 as Worth County gave up the ball on downs. Dylan McIntyre picked off Kemper Cline's pass at the 30, but the blocking was once again nonexistent, and it cost them as they fumbled it right back to the Warriors three plays later. On fourth and goal at the Tiger two, Cline caught Worth County peeking in the backfield and found Kyle Burke all alone in the end zone, a theme that would repeat itself all night. Burke caught the extra points to put Albany up 8-0 with 3:38 left in the first quarter.
To their credit, once they realized they had a game on their hands, Worth County started fighting back. They overcame a false start with a 10 yard burst by Cassavaugh and a two yard carry by Tyler New on fourth and one at their own 37. Albany jumped offisdes on fourth and three at the Warrior 33 to give the Tigers another first down. Finally, Tyler New scrambled into the end zone with 10:55 left and Braxton Hightshoe caught a pass to tie it up at 8-8.
But try as they might, Worth County could not get off the field on defense. Cline was automatic on third and short situations, and when they finally forced a fourth and nine at the Tiger 34, Cline caught Worth County peeking in the back field and threw a flea flicker pass to Burke, who was all alone with 8:11 left to put Albany back in front 14-8 with 8:11 left.
Worth County overcame an ineligible man downfield when Tyler New completed short passes to Braxton Hightshoe for seven and Levi Cassavaugh for 9 to the Warrior 28. Dylan McIntyre caught a pass for 11 to the 17. Two incomplete passes set up third and 10, but Tyler New muscled his way past several Warrior tacklers for a first down to the 5. He then scrambled for a touchdown with 6:53 left to tie it at 14.
Albany had a long touchdown called back to the Worth County 32 by a block in the back, but they were once again automatic on fourth and two, getting a five yard carry from Cline to the 20. On the next play, Jerrid Bunten got loose to score with 3:45 left in the half, and once again, the coverage broke down and Bunten was all alone for a pass from Cline in the end zone to make it 22-14.
The Warriors twice tried onsides kicks to capture the momentum, and it hurt them on the next series as Worth County had a short field at the Warrior 39. They converted a third and two with a short pass to Braxton Hightshoe to the 26, and then Tyler New dropped back to pass. A block by Creed Wilcox bought him extra time and he found Hightshoe in the end zone with 2:18 left. Levi Cassavaugh ran in the extra points to make it 22-22 with 1:56 left in the half.
Albany marched down the field and got from the Worth County 38 to the 13 after a 14 yard pass to Porter Davis. Kemper Cline ran into Jace Latham and Elias Alarcon for no gain, Alarcon hurried Cline into a quick throw, and a screen was dropped by Popplewell at the 11. Cline tried to take it himself on fourth and ten at the 13 with time running out, but Elias Alarcon tackled him at the 6 short of the third down and the Tigers were able to run out the first half clock.
Worth County got the ball back to start the second half, but they were not ready to play; after advancing into Warrior territory at the 35, a bad snap buried them and they were forced to punt. Tyler New got a sack on Cline to force a three and out, and Hightshoe ran it back to the Albany 34, but once again, they shot themselves in the foot with a bad snap and this time, they gave up the ball on downs at the Warrior 34. Once again, they could not get off their field, as on fourth and three, an offsides penalty gave Albany a first down on the Tiger 34 after a fourth and three. The Warriors drove to the 23, where Cline broke three different Tiger tackles and scored with 2:34 left. Bunten ran in the extra points to make it 30-22.
Levi Cassavaugh found some daylight on the next series and wove his way down the right sideline for a 39 yard touchdown on the next series to cut the deficit to 30-28. But on the play, a referee from 50 yards away threw a late hit penalty on Elias Alarcon, meaning the extra point try was from the 18 and not the three. Replays on video showed that it was the Albany player with the late hit. Worth County's try was unsuccessful and they trailed 30-28.
But at the start of the fourth quarter, Tyler New recovered a Cline fumble on the Warrior 36 and the Tigers had new live. New dove ahead for five yards to convert a third and three at the 24, and then on the next play, Dylan McIntyre caught a pass from New to put the Tigers in the lead for the first time at 34-30.
But frequently, a team that digs themselves into a hole and fights back runs out of gas at the end, and that was what happened to the Tigers. Albany was pinned at their own 15, but a 25 yard pass to Burke got them to the 40. Cline nearly fumbled it again, but was ruled down, and Buntin and Cline gashed the Tigers on big running plays. Finally, Porter Davis caught a 16 yard pass from Cline with 7:33 left to put Albany back in the lead at 36-34.
Worth County started at their own 35, and Tyler New scrambled his way to the Warrior 25. But a holding penalty wiped out a touchdown, and a fumble set them back even further. On third and 18 at the Warrior 33, Tyler New apparently had Grant McIntyre zeroed in for a long pass, only for Kemper Cline to reach over his back and pick it off, returning it to the Warrior 31. Albany was able to get some first downs and run out the clock.
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