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Although a little later than normal, the Albert Lea football team traveled to Byron Saturday evening to kickoff its 2020 season. 

The Tigers were met by a force in the Bears and quickly fell into a 21-0 hole in the first quarter. The Tigers’ defense was outmatched and the offense was unable to gain any sort of momentum, falling to the Bears 59-0. 

Albert Lea gained a total of 53 yards throughout the game, 23 came through the air and the other 30 on the ground. 

Junior Garrett Giles got the start at quarterback and went 1-10 connecting with junior Cole Janssen for 23 yards in his lone completion of the game. 

Senior back Griffin Studier was the yards leader on the ground for the Tigers, picking up 33 yards on 13 attempts. Junior Cam Davis had 10 yards on seven carries and senior Cody Yokiel had two yards on two carries. 

Defensively, the Tigers were led by Yokiel who recorded seven solo tackles and one assist. One of those tackles was for a loss. Senior Sam Witham had 6.5 tackles, 1.5 of which were in the backfield. 

After giving up 52 points in the first half, the Tigers settled down and found their footing in the second half, only giving up seven points.

Albert Lea led in time of possession, controlling the ball for 26:18, compared to Byron with 21:42. Another bright spot for Albert Lea was the disciplined game they played, only being called for one penalty for a total of 10 yards. 

The Tigers start the year 0-1 and will play Austin Friday night in the Interstate 90 rivalry. The Tigers beat the Packers 24-7 last season.