Michael Norris / Amarillo Globe-News Albany's Elijah Hudson pushes Stratford's Edgar Guerrero down as he turns the corner during a Class 1A Division II state semifinal Friday night at Frenship's Tiger Stadium in Wolfforth. Albany won, 28-14, to remain unbeaten.

WOLFFORTH - The Albany Lions used a dominating first half, then held on down the stretch to defeat the Stratford Elks, 28-14, on Friday in a Class 1A Division II state semifinal before about 2,300 fans at Tiger Stadium.

In winning their 15th game without a loss, the Lions jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead thanks to a 58-yard pass from Leif Johnston to Jason Brothers on their sixth offensive play late in the first quarter and a 46-yard interception return by Brothers on the third play of the second period.

Albany's third TD of the half was a 3-yard pass from Johnston to running back Elijah Hudson that capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive that followed a Stratford punt.

"You can't spot a team as good as Albany a 21-point halftime lead and expect to come back,'' Elks head coach Eddie Metcalf said. "Their big pass play and interception return were huge. We just never were able to get anything going in the first half. Their defense was better than our offense in those first two quarters.''

In the second half, the Lions went 71 yards in four plays after the kickoff to take a 28-0 lead on a 15-yard pass from Johnston to Hudson.

After that touchdown, Stratford's offense came to life, but it proved to be too little, too late. The Elks were held to 101 yards total offense in the first half, including 55 rushing yards. In the second half they had 168 yards rushing as they wound up with 286 total yards and 17 first downs.

Albany, ranked No. 1 in the state much of the season, had 141 yards total offense in the first half, including 65 rushing. The Lions wound up with 284 total yards and 193 on the ground with 11 first downs.

Stratford's first touchdown came on the fourth play of the final quarter when Klinton Keener ran 1 yard to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive after an Albany punt. His 44-yard run that moved the ball from the Elks 40 to the Lions 16 highlighted the drive.

The Elks missed a great opportunity to get on the scoreboard early in the third period. Bryce Cummings raced 45 yards from the Lions 46 to the 1 but fumbled the ball through the end zone for a touchback with 6:27 remaining in the period.

Stratford's final touchdown came with 1:42 to play on a 10-yard run by Keener that capped a nine-play, 50-yard drive that followed Albany's only turnover.

The Lions then ran out the remaining time following the kickoff to advance to the championship game against the winner of today's Cayuga-Ganado semifinal.

"We came out ready to play in the first half, and that was the difference in the game,'' Albany head coach Denny Faith said. "Stratford is a great team, and we knew that we had to get off to a good start against them.''

Metcalf said while the ending to the season was disappointing, it still represented a great accomplishment for his team.

"We overcame a number of injuries to key players and some off-the-field stuff,'' he said. "If someone had told me back in August that we would have reached this point, I'm not sure I would have believed them. So it was still a great year for us, and hopefully we can do it again next year.''

The Elks reached the state semifinals seven times this decade and won three state titles. This was their 43rd playoff game of the decade and 49th since the 1999 season.

Albany 28, Stratford 14

Stratford 0 0 0 14 - 14

Albany 7 14 7 0 - 28

A-Jason Brothers 58 pass from Leif Johnston (Zed Hawkins kick).

A-Brothers 46 interception return (Hawkins kick).

A-Elijah Hudson 3 pass from Johnston (Hawkins kick). A-Hudson 15 pass from Johnston (Hawkins kick).

S-Klinton Keener 1 run (Byron DeAnda kick).

S-Keener 10 run (DeAnda kick).

Stratford Albany

First Downs 17 11

Rushing 46-223 31-193

Passing Yards 63 91

Total Yards 286 284

Comp-Att-Int 5-11-1 4-5-0

Punts-Avg 1-40 1-28 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1

Penalties-Yds 3-15 5-35

Individual statistics

Rushing-Stratford: Cummings 23-130, Keener 21-104, Wright 2- -11. Albany: Hudson 23-161, Faith 5-36, Johnston 3--4.

Passing-Stratford: Wright 5-10-1-63, Cummings 0-1-0-0. Albany: Johnston 4-5-0-91.

Receiving-Stratford: Guerrero 3-45, Cummings 1-10, Ortega 1-8. Albany: Brothers 2-73, Hudson 2-18.