WAVERLY – As they say, all good things must come to an end.
Unfortunately, several good things came to an end for the Altoona-Midway High School football team as they were waylaid 60-13 by the undefeated Waverly Bulldogs in a Kansas 6-Man regional playoff game here Friday night.
The game was called at halftime due to the mercy rule.
The loss not only brought the end to the 2023 football season for the AMHS Jets, but also:
- The Jets’ first trip to the regional (second-round) of the Kansas state football playoffs, since 1992.
- The Jets’ three-game winning streak, also a first for Altoona-Midway since 1992.
It also meant the end of their high school gridiron careers for three AMHS seniors – Lane Poeverlein, Jacob Meigs, and Blaine Collins. Unfortunately, only Poeverlein was able to participate in the contest. Meigs and Collins – as well as sophomore Kage Beck – all missed Friday’s game because they were representing the school at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In addition, junior Andrew Wright was also nursing an injured knee and played very sparingly, basically leaving the Jets with just seven able-bodied players.
“Obviously it was not the way we wanted to finish the season, but the boys played hard, despite missing key players,” noted Altoona-Midway head coach Randy Almond. “Playing an undefeated and very talented Waverly, team, we knew we would have our hands full. But despite this loss, the boys can still be very proud of what they accomplished this year.”
Indeed, in addition to posting the school’s first playoff win and first three-game winning streak in 31 years, the Jets’ first two years under Almond’s guidance produced the most Jet wins over a two-year span (six) since AMHS recorded seven wins in 2006-07.
“The boys gave me all they had, and we improved as the season went along. That’s all you can ask from a team,” Almond added. “I am very proud of this group of young men.”
The short-handed Jets couldn’t get much going against the talented Waverly crew. William Stackhouse rushed for 30 yards on five carries, and Kieran Foster completed 3-of-13 passes for 30 yards. Included in those aerial statistics was a 16-yard touchdown pass from Foster to Stackhouse.
“We accomplished one of our team goals last week by having every player on the team score at some point during the season,” Almond said, “but William had a fantastic year and finished with an incredible 31 touchdowns. He is a tremendous athlete.”
Unofficially, the 31 TDs by Stackhouse would appear almost undoubtedly to be a school record.
The other points for the Jets came on a PAT pass from Foster to Taj Chism, and an electric 50-yard interception return by Joey Lamendola. Waverly led 40-6 at the quarter and 60-13 by halftime.
“Waverly is a great team, and playing shorthanded meant playing kids out of position, which also contributed to our lack of offense,” Almond explained. “But we were able to put 13 points on the board, which was an improvement over our first meeting with Waverly (a 45-0 loss).”
Defensively, Poeverlein finished his AMHS career in style, racking up nine unassisted tackles and 11 total stops.
“Lane played his best game of the season and showed to be a true leader,” Almond said.
Stackhouse finished with seven tackles, while Tyler Peyton had six, Lamendola five, Foster and Chism four each, and Braxton Whitlake totaled three. In addition to Lamendola’s interception return, Chism also pilfered a Bulldog pass.
Waverly, now 8-0, advances to the sectional (quarterfinal) round of the state playoffs. The Bulldogs will square off against Tescott (7-2) on Friday, Nov. 10. Tescott defeated Peabody-Burns 69-19 Friday. The Jets finish the season with a 3-7 overall record, which included the impressive three-game win streak at the close of the year.