The Albany varsity football team just couldn’t pull it together for what should have been a win against De Anza on September 23. The De Anza Don’s brought a 42-game losing streak into Cougar Field against the 1-1 Albany squad.
The first half can only be described as a slow and uneventful series of mistakes for Albany’s offense and defense. The offense just couldn’t find rhythm, with senior quarterback Kyle Tannahill frequently missing his targets.
It didn’t help that the defense had virtually no outside containment on the De Anza quarterback, Stephen Evans, who ran it to the outside then pitched the ball for the first touchdown. Evans later ran 26 yards dodging Cougar tacklers for the next score. The first half ended with De Anza up 14-0.
A new Cougar team came out in the second half that had the crowd roaring for what became an exciting comeback ball game.
Kyle Moore was a key second-half factor scoring two touchdowns and two two-point conversions. Moore finally put some points on the board for Albany with a three-yard touchdown in the second half. Unfortunately, the PAT was blocked.
Senior Ryan Reynolds then recovered a Moore fumble in the end zone for an additional six points. Albany made the two-point conversion to tie up the game 14-14.
De Anza then put up another seven points to close out the third quarter 21-14.
The game changed again when Moore found daylight and ran for a 45-yard touchdown, evading almost every Don on the field. The surprised home crowd was on its feet cheering when the coaches decided to go for the win with a two-point conversion.
Moore once again ran it in for the go-ahead score, 22-21.
“The line stepped up the second half and with the help of my lead blocker Ryan Reynolds, I played my part to the best of my ability,” said Moore about his performance.
Following the go-ahead score, the Cougars had to kick it off from the 25-yard line after a penalty for excessive celebration, which gave the Dons excellent field position. With less then two minutes to go the Cougars defense just couldn’t hold the Dons who started their final march with a 49-yard pass right off the bat. After just two plays the Dons made a dream-breaking run for the final touchdown of the game, making it 27-22 De Anza.
Victory still seemed possible for the Cougars with enough time on the board for several plays. However, the game ended with Tannahill throwing his fifth interception, sealing the loss for Albany.
“I wasn’t in the talking mood afterwards because I felt I didn’t play to my potential throughout the game. And I felt that I had let my team down because of my performance,” said a frustrated Tannahill.
Those fans who stayed through the second half saw a tough and resurgent Cougar team with absolutely no quit. Come see if the Cougars can carry this momentum forward against John Swett, Friday September 30 at 5:30, Cougar Field.
