Campolindo-Albany Preview: Injury-Riddled Cougars Begin Season At Albany

Since getting drilled by Campolindo in its season opener last year, the Albany High football team has been waiting, working and plotting its revenge. Today, they'll get that chance.

But this version of the Campolindo Cougars will barely resemble the squad that thumped Albany in 2009.

Campo returns only four starters — all on defense — and has already been decimated by injuries, even before the season starts at 5:30 p.m. today at Albany. First-team all-DFAL wideout Andrew Ahr is out for five weeks. So are fellow receivers Griffin Piatt and Anthony Fideli, as well as tight end Vince Graziano. 

"We've really been hurt by injuries," said Campolindo coach Kevin Macy. "We call it the five week club, because it seems like all of them will be out for about five weeks."

Making matters worse, all of the injured players go both ways. So not only is Campolindo's receiving corps thin, so is its secondary. In step Karl Thornton and Aaron Havell, players who mostly played junior varsity last season and will now be counted on to play meaningful snaps on both sides of the ball.

"We don't necessarily need them to be key contributors," Macy said of Thornton and Havell. "That's too much to expect. We just need a little something out of them."

As for Albany coach Scott Shevelson, he doesn't care who lines up for Campo. In his mind, the program's track record speaks for itself. 

"No matter who they lose, they're the type of program that always has somebody to step right in," Shevelson said. "The guy who steps in may not be as good as the starter, but he's going to be almost as good, and he's going to be fit, and he's going to be ready to play."

While Campolindo has established itself as a consistent contender, Albany is simply trying to compete for a playoff spot and land in the upper half of its league. Albany's offense has been solid in recent years, but defensive lapses have plagued the Cougars. Friday, the team takes a step toward finding out if it has made the necessary improvements to top its three wins from 2009.

"We want to see four quarters of full effort," Shevelson said. "No matter the score, no matter what kind of pain they're feeling, we want to see that. We want to see their fitness level. We want to see if they'll keep going late in the game."

Macy is confident in his team's work ethic but concerned by its depth and inexperience. With contributors missing and players shifting positions throughout the game, he's hoping Campolindo will persevere through its early-season challenges.

"We feel like we're in a bit of a tailspin right now," Macy said. "We're switching positions. We're switching the playbook. It's all about adapting."