Albany Cougars 06: The Real Deal

After last year’s horrendous season when the Albany Cougars football squad posted a depressing 1-8-1 record and was outscored 287-59, there were few signs of hope for the upcoming season. Many believed that this year would be just as bad as previous year’s teams and that nobody would take the time to go out and play for the team.

However, with a little bit of luck, the 2006-2007 Cougars look as though they have the will to win that is needed to be successful at the high school level. With some new impact players and a few returning seniors, this upcoming season is looking pretty good for the guys in red and white. 

At press time, the varsity Cougars posted a 2-3 record, though they have fought hard in every game. This year it seems that many players believe they will win and play like a team that has something to lose. With a mindset like that, any team can go from being one of the sloppiest teams on the field, to being a team with heart.

With the new head coach Scott Shevelson and assistants Anthony Freeman and John Cullom, this season looks to be one for the ages.

The Cougars won their first game of the year with a dramatic 32-28 victory over the Richmond Oilers. Star safety and running back Eric Roberson, a senior, made many jaw-breaking, open-field tackles and had numerous, lengthy runs on the offensive side of the ball raising his season touchdown total to eight. Junior quarterback Daniel Singh burned the Oilers defense for multiple lengthy touchdowns, including a 62-yard strike to senior Miles Olson, who also returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown.

The next win came for the Cougars came in an impressive victory over the Oakland Wildcats, 21-12.

The Cougars have shown a lot of poise on both sides of the ball, even with two heartbreaking losses to the Mission San Jose Warriors (21-20) in a last second thriller and to the St. Helena Saints, 35-21. Albany also suffered a blowout to King’s Academy by a score of 49-21.

Junior tight end and defensive end Alex Assia believes that there have been tremendous improvements from last year to this season, and that this season looks to be greater than years past. “With the new coaches in place and everybody’s desire to win, I think we are about to have a great season.”

Roberson claims this team will be one to watch, saying, “I guess it is because we got guys who actually want to play, some of us may want to do this in the future, like after high school. The new style of coaching has made a difference too, but the willingness to do well and win has made the biggest difference.”

2 Responses

1. 9:30 AM on October 26th, 2006Ari Colby:

   Cougar Football GOES…HARD!!!

2. 11:20 AM on October 26th, 2006Arkan Razi:

   Dude we r hella raw, but sometimes the quarterback isnt doin his best, and i think we should start daniel singh…. lol, i love u Ari!!!!>

Leave a Comment

All comments are moderated. If your comment contains profanity or libelous content, please don't waste our time.