ALTOONA-MIDWAY/YATES CENTER MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL
YATES CENTER – After opening the season with two consecutive wins, the
Altoona-Midway/Yates Center middle school football team was excited about the
possibility of extending that streak as it hosted Uniontown Middle School here Thursday
evening.
But the talented Uniontown Eagles had other plans, as they dominated action from
start to finish and came away with a convincing 52-6 victory over the AM-YC co-op
squad.
The only bright spot on the night for Altoona-Midway/Yates Center came late in the
first half, when Kieran Foster gathered in a Uniontown kickoff and galloped 60 yards for a
touchdown.
“Tonight was definitely a rough one,” noted AM-YC coach Ron Rice. “Our boys
didn’t play well from the opening kickoff. We didn’t execute fundamentals at all. We
missed blocks, missed tackles, ran backwards, and didn’t look when passes were thrown.”
So dominating was the Uniontown performance that eight of AM-YC’s 12 rushing
plays lost yardage. William Stackhouse was the leading rusher with a net 13 yards on four
carries, but as a team as they finished the game with negative-7 yards rushing. They also
lost five yards on their only completed pass, giving AM-YC a net total offense of minus12
yards on the evening.
“Uniontown played a great game up front. Their linemen dominated the trenches,”
Rice said. “Kieran’s kickoff return was the one bright spot.”
The Eagles led 44-6 at intermission, then scored on the opening drive of the second
half to end the game via the mercy rule.
Foster also led AM-YC with six tackles, while Stackhouse added four, and Keegan
Tadlock three. Eli Hess came up with a fumble recovery.
“After the game, Coach (Chris) Cavendar and I talked to the boys about the loss and
how it was only one game,” Rice pointed out. “How we respond to this loss will determine
the rest of our season.”
AM-YC (2-1) now hits the road for the first time this year, traveling to Moran on
Thursday, Oct. 1, to square off against Marmaton Valley.