ALTOONA-MIDWAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
BUFFALO – The defensive unit for Altoona-Midway High School was definitely
“up to the task” here Friday night at Frank Kennedy Field.
Unfortunately, so was the defense from Colony-Crest High School.
And in the end, the Crest Lancers mustered just enough offense to post a 20-0
victory in the Class Eight Man-District II, Division 1 matchup – thus spoiling the
impressive Jet defensive effort, as well as dampening Altoona-Midway’s homecoming
festivities.
The Jets also faced some additional adversity as their head coach Chad Raida was
unable to be at the game due to a family emergency. AMHS assistant coach Randy
Almond took over the reins for the evening, and despite the loss was pleased with the
effort put forth by the Jet squad.
"The boys played hard tonight but we were unable to take advantage of good field
position,” Almond noted. “We just couldn't punch it in."
Crest scored in each of the first two periods to take a 12-0 lead into halftime. A
scoreless third quarter left the Jets still within striking distance, but another Lancers
touchdown in the final stanza sealed the deal and gave Crest its 20-0 margin of victory.
Dayton Marsh led the AMHS ground attack with 57 yards on 17 carries, while
Joshua Meigs carried the ball 12 times for 32 yards and Jimmy Willard had 21 yards on six
attempts.
Brandon Johnson was 6-of-9 through the air for 59 yards, while Meigs and Willard
each completed one pass apiece. Kendall Pierce was the favorite target during the contest,
hauling in five catches for 42 yards.
The Jet offense was stymied by three costly turnovers, as they threw two
interceptions and lost a fumble to thwart scoring opportunities.
The AMHS defense, which gave a standout effort all night long, was led by Marsh
and Meigs with eight tackles apiece. Willard and Pierce were credited with five and four
tackles, respectively, while Connor Houghton notched three and Dustin Reeves had two
tackles and a fumble recovery.
With the victory, Crest finished 4-1 in district play, runner-up only to undefeated St.
Paul. The Lancers stand 5-3 overall.
Altoona-Midway saw its overall record drop to 2-6. The Jets finished 2-3 in district
action and 2-4 in the eight-man standings of the Three Rivers League.
Eight Man-Division II football playoffs begin this week, and pairings have been
announced. The Jets will travel to Lost Springs (located 55 miles northwest of Emporia),
where they will open bracket play against the Centre High School Cougars.
Centre demolished Marais des Cygnes Valley 56-6 on Friday and is 6-2 on the year.
The Cougars are on a five-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 258-6
over that span. The game will begin at 7 p.m. at Bud Peterson