CHETOPA – It is safe to say that the Altoona-Midway Jets are not the same team that began the season.
The Chetopa Hornets can verify that fact – first-hand – following the second matchup of the season between those two high schools.
Altoona-Midway, 50-25 losers to Chetopa in the season-opener for both teams, turned the tables on the Hornets here Friday night and posted a convincing 62-46 triumph in Kansas 6-Man, District 1 action.
The Jets have now won two in a row and three of their four games since the opening night loss. AMHS currently stands 3-2 overall and 2-2 in District 1. Chetopa, meanwhile is headed in the opposite direction, as the Hornets have lost four of five and now stand 2-2 in district play and 2-4 overall.
“Tonight was a total team effort. Everyone did what they were asked to do and more,” said Altoona-Midway coach Jeff Almond, who directs the Jets along with his brother Randy.
“Chetopa is a tough team. They played well and hit hard, but we matched them in toughness and effort tonight,” Almond continued. “We could not be more proud of the guys.”
AMHS gave an inspired effort on both sides of the ball in the district rematch. The Jets rolled up 430 yards of total offense, surpassing 200 yards both rushing and receiving, while their aggressive, big-play defense came up with four turnovers and kept the pressure on Chetopa all night.
“Our offense stayed on the field for a total of 62 plays and our defense was outstanding tonight with 4 take-a-ways,” Almond noted. “We were only penalized 3 times for 40 yards. That was a big plus.”
AMHS jumped to an early 18-6 lead only to see Chetopa go on top 19-18 early in the second quarter. The Jets regained the lead for good when William Stackhouse raced 32 yards and then threw a 32-yard pass to Kage Beck to make it 30-19. The Hornets’ Lawrence Holt raced 60 yards to close the gap to 30-26 with under a minute left in half, but the Jets answered when Joey Lamendola scored on a 5-yard pass from Kieran Foster as time expired. Beck’s PAT made it 37-26 at intermission.
Altoona-Midway’s defense forced back-to-back turnovers in Chetopa territory to open the second half. The Jets turned both miscues into touchdowns on short runs by Lamendola and AMHS led 50-26. The teams alternated scoring plays the rest of the way to produce the final 62-46 result.
The Jets’ final two scores came on a 22-yard pass from Stackhouse to Kenny Smith and a 15-yard run by Stackhouse.
For the game, Stackhouse crossed the goal line four times, including a 60-yard kickoff return; Lamendola had three rushing TDs; Beck had a pair of touchdown receptions, covering 50 and 32 yards; Smith recorded his first touchdown of the season with his 15-yard reception.
Stackhouse racked up 128 yards rushing on 14 carries while Lamendola added another 31 yards. Beck hauled in several passes and finished with 161 receiving yards. Foster and Stackhouse passed for 109 and 92 yards, respectively.
Defensively, Lamendola recorded two fumble recoveries and an interception while Chance Carter also fell on a fumble. Foster and Stackhouse led the Jets in tackles with 12 and 11, respectively, while Beck added five, Carter finished with four and Taj Chism logged three.
“Kieran Foster played his best all-around game tonight,” Almond said. “He was solid on both sides of the ball. He was our leader tonight.
“William Stackhouse continues to impress with both his offensive and defensive skills, and Joey Lamendola was impressive tonight and continues to improve each game,” added Almond. “But like I said, everyone played a part in this win. It was a total team effort.”
Altoona-Midway will return home in the first time in over a month this Friday, Oct. 18, when they play host to Ingalls High School. It will be Homecoming for AMHS. Ingalls, 5-1, pounded five consecutive opponents to open the season before suffering its first loss of the season, 51-32 to Kiowa-South Barber.
We have a lot of corrections this week in practice if we hope to be competitive against Ingalls,” the coach noted. “They were state-ranked in the top 3 before suffering their first defeat of the year to South Barber tonight.
“Ingalls is averaging over 50 points a game (305 points in six games),” Almond continued. “We definitely need to improve our performance if we hope to stay in the game. It’s going to be tough but we will lace them up and give them our best shot.”