Albany had shown rapid improvement following their 54-7 loss to Worth County which dropped them to 1-4 at the time. They came in having won four out of their last five, with their only loss being a one-score loss to their nemesis Pattonsburg. Jace Palmer had a breakout game against North Andrew to fuel their revival, and Elliot Mercer ran for over 100 yards in each of those games.
The Warriors picked up right where they left off, as their focus was on running out the clock and moving the ball. They got the ball to start the game and took six minutes off the clock moving the ball from their own 19 to the Tiger 36. But then the wheels came off after Worth County diagnosed a play action pass and Jude Archer blitzed and got a sack. Ethan Lininger, Sawyer Thurman, and Lucas Frisch blew up an option play, and a fourth down pass was broken up by Wyatt Hill at the Warrior 38. It only took Worth County one play to get on the board as Bo Collins caught a pass over the middle and veered to the left side, outrunning everyone to the end zone with 6:15 left in the first quarter. Cole Ruby ran in the extra points to make it 8-0.
Sawyer Thurman and Ryder Smyser shot into the backfield and dropped Mercer for a loss on their next series. Palmer tried to spring loose on a keeper but ran into Bo Collins and Wyatt Hill. A short pass to Zayden Palmer netted eight yards to the Warrior 30. On fourth and four, Albany went for it again, but a pitch to Elliot Mercer was inches short of the first down, and Worth County took over on downs again. Cole Ruby was stuffed for a loss of one but then Caleb New was all alone over the middle with nobody covering him. He took a 35-yard pass from Hayden Sanders to the house with 3:24 left in the first. Cole Ruby ran in the extra points to make it 16-0.
Elliot Mercer picked up four on Albany's next play from scrimmage but Carter Dannar, who gashed the Tigers several times during the first meeting between the two teams, ran into Bo Collins. Mercer was stopped by Ethan Lininger, who came from his nose tackle to blow up a pitch play at the 25. This time, Albany elected to punt, and Elliot Mercer got off a good one that traveled 50 yards to the Tiger 5. But special teams were a big item in Worth County's wins over Pattonsburg and King City, and they were a big item again. Jude Archer fielded the punt, got a block from Bo Collins, and took it 75 yards to the house. Bo Collins caught the extra point pass to make it 24-0.
Albany buried itself on its own eight after a holding penalty, but an option play to Carter Dannar and a seven-yard carry by Mercer picked up a first down to the 21. Mercer converted a fourth and two to the 31, and then a screen pass to Carter Dannar picked up 33 yards to the Tiger 16. A false start put Albany behind the sticks, but Jace Palmer scrambled 23 yards for a touchdown with 9 minutes left in the half. Mercer caught a pass to make it 24-8.
But just as it looked like Albany was regaining some momentum, they tried an onsides kick, only for Wyatt Hill to return it to the Warrior 30. They were faced with third and eight at the 28, but then Cole Ruby picked up 15 yards to the 13. Hayden Sanders picked up a block from Lucas Frisch and took it the rest of the way with 7:29 left in the half to make it 30-8.
Sawyer Thurman and Ethan Lininger put Palmer under a heavy rush on third and nine at the 33 and forced an incomplete pass, forcing Albany to punt. The next Tiger score was set up by a long runback by Jude Archer before he was tackled at the 38. An offsides penalty put it on the 37, and then Lucas Frisch caught a 25-yard pass to the 12. A facemask penalty was tacked on to the end of the run, putting it on the six. Worth County seemingly wasted its chance as a fourth down pass to Caleb New was ruled incomplete as he had stepped out of bounds before catching the pass. But on Albany's second play from scrimmage on the ensuing series, Lucas Frisch shot in like a human missile and hit Mercer hard, forcing a fumble which he recovered at the Warrior 4. Worth County did not waste its second chance as Sanders got a block from Sawyer Thurman and scored with 2:24 left in the half. Cole Ruby ran in the extra points to make it 38-8.
Elliot Mercer ripped off a 16-yard gain and Zayden Palmer caught a 13-yard screen to the 36. But with time running out, the wheels began to come off, and a sack by Ethan Lininger and Wyatt Hill forced Albany to punt. The kick was shanked, traveling 13 yards into the wind before going out of bounds to give the Tigers good field position at the 35. Three straight incompletions set up fourth and ten at the 35 with 24 seconds left in the half. Worth County initially sent Wyatt Hill in to punt, and Albany took a timeout. Worth County then changed its mind, and Bo Collins caught a comeback route for 12 yards and a first down at the Warrior 33. Worth County spiked it with 16 seconds, and a pass to Bo Collins left them short of the first down at the 24 with 3.4 seconds left. One referee signaled to run the clock out, while another referee signaled to stop the clock. By the time they had it sorted out, Worth County had lined up and got the ball spiked with 1.7 seconds left in the half despite one of the Albany players hitting the ball before it was snapped. That was all they needed to score, as Bo Collins made a circus catch in the back of the end zone with two defenders draped all over him with no time left, and Cole Ruby ran in the extra points to make it 46-8 at the half.
The bad thing about that play was that Worth County had the ball to start the second half and was able to score twice without Albany touching the ball on offense. Lucas Frisch converted a third and one at the 24, and a short pass to Bo Collins picked up seven more to the 38. Jude Archer got blocks from Hayden Sanders and Caleb New and picked up 15 yards to the 27. Cole Ruby got a block from Hayden Sanders to spring loose, and Caleb New threw the final block that sprung him into the end zone with 9:03 left in the third to make it 52-8.
The game snowballed from there, as Jace Palmer tried a fake handoff and a keeper that fooled nobody. He fumbled the ball, and Wyatt Hill recovered it at the Warrior 22. Caleb New caught a six-yard pass to the 16, and Cole Ruby picked up five more to the 11. Jude Archer got blocks from Bo Collins and Caleb New to the four. Cole Ruby was dropped back to the nine, but Bo Collins made yet another circus catch with a Warrior defender draped all over him. He juggled it while going down and snagged it while lying flat on the ground for a score. Despite plenty of chirping from the Albany side, the touchdown stood, and Worth County led 58-8.
Carter Dannar finally got loose for a 64-yard run against the reserves, and Jace Palmer ran it in to make it 58-16. But Brayden Stevens ran back the kickoff down the right side and to the house with 7:43 left in the game. Dylan Smith caught the extra point pass to make it 66-16. The junior varsity squads took over from there, with Bentin Roberts getting a sack on fourth and long to give the Tigers the ball again at the Warrior 20. Jordan Dannar picked up 10 yards, and Roberts took it the rest of the way after Mason Hiatt sealed off the edge. Jordan Dannar got a block from Jace Burns to make it 74-16. Burns recovered a fumble at the end for the Tigers.
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