Albemarle @ Mountain Island Charter, MIC, 42-12
Chatham Central @ North Stokes, Chatham Central, 21-20
North Rowan @ Lexington, North Rowan, 28-20
North Stanly, open
Central Davidson @ South Davidson, Central Davidson, 48-12
Jordan-Matthews @ South Stanly, South Stanly, 48-13
Union Pines @ North Moore, Union Pines, 47-12
Last week, 5-2 (.714). Overall, 9-4 (.692).
Not really a good week of football in the Yadkin Valley Conference. The Lexington-North Rowan game could be interesting.
Historically speaking, Albemarle has been either a "hot" or "cold" team.
From the late 40's to the early 60's, Albemarle was one of the premier football programs in North Carolina. Starting from 1963 to 1982, Albemarle's record was 51-152-7, and that includes 3 seasons when Albemarle didn't win a game.
After three 7 win seasons (1983-1985), the 1986-1993 seasons involved much struggling and the Bulldogs amassed a 28-53 record.
In 1994, during Jack Gaster's 2nd year at the helm, Albemarle became a dominant football program. From 1994-2013, Albemarle won 5 1AA state championships and sported a 226-55 record.
Since 2014, the program has struggled. The 2014 season, on paper, shows Albemarle with a 1-10 record. However, 7 games were forfeited due to an ineligible player issue. More problems ensued...the 2015 season was very tough (3-9). The 2016 season reminded many of the Bulldogs in the 1970's, with Albemarle winning 1 game and losing 10. 2017 and 2018 were better: 4-8 and 4-7, respectively.
There are numerous factors that come into play for the program struggling.
- The Bulldogs changed coaches after the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 season.
- The 2014 shooting in front of the school.
- Major discussions about closing the school down.
- Dwindling enrollment numbers. In 2003 after Jack Gaster's last year as head coach, Albemarle's ADM was 684. By 2018, Albemarle's ADM was down to 410. Mind you, Albemarle has moved from 1AA to 1A in the playoffs, but back in the early 2000's, Albemarle was one of the larger 1AA schools. Today, their enrollment is very average for 1A playoff schools.
- The emergence of the North Stanly football program. From 1962 to 2012, North Stanly had made the playoffs exactly once (1993). Since 2013, North Stanly has made the playoffs 6 consecutive years.
Albemarle, at least in my "North Stanly" eyes, is still the premier high school in Stanly County. I expect the Bulldogs will be back on everyone's radar before too long.
