Football Game Preview: Albany Lions vs. Santo Wildcats

Albany has gone a perfect 5-0 against Santo recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The Lions will square off against the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. Albany knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past five matchups -- so hopefully Santo likes a good challenge.

Santo's offense is going to have their work cut out for them on Thursday: Albany hadn't allowed a single point the last five times they've hit the field. The Lions blew past Hamlin 33-0 on Friday. The win continues a trend for the Lions in their matchups with the Pied Pipers: they've now won four in a row.

Huffman Heatly

Receiving Yards

10/31/25 vs Roscoe	109
11/07/25 @ Hamlin	80
10/17/25 vs Winters	77
10/10/25 @ Miles	52
08/29/25 vs Stamford	47

Albany's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Shawn Keen, who rushed for 87 yards and one TD. Keen didn't just play on offense: he also picked up a sack and made four total tackles. Huffman Heatly did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 80 receiving yards.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Albany proved: they limited Hamlin to a paltry 1.9 yards per carry. The team can thank Zane Green for the heroic effort on defense: he. Albany didn't have any issues in that department, having averaged 7.2.

Albany's defense didn't let Luke White, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for five sacks. That dominant display was truly a team effort as four different players picked up one apiece ( Brody Oliver and Green also recorded half a sack). Another thorn in Hamlin's side was Bennett Neece, who picked up a sack and made ten total tackles in addition to snagging an interception.

Meanwhile, Santo was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were beaten by Collinsville 40-13. Having soared to a lofty 34 points in the game before, the Wildcats couldn't push the score so high this time.

Santo's defeat dropped their record down to 6-4. As for Albany, their record now sits at 8-2.

Everything came up roses for Albany against Santo when the teams last played back in October of 2021, as the squad secured a 33-6 victory. In that game, the Lions amassed a halftime lead of 20-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.