BUFFALO – Altoona-Midway High School held Homecoming festivities – always a special
event – here Friday night. But homecoming occurs every year – and following the coronation, the Jet boys’ basketball team guaranteed themselves of accomplishing something the school has not experienced in 17 years – a winning record.
Altoona-Midway is now assured of finishing on the positive side of the win-loss ledger by
virtue of a hard-fought 58-44 triumph over the Marmaton Valley Wildcats before a
boisterous, appreciative crowd at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
The Jets improved to 11-6 overall with three games remaining in the regular season.
Altoona-Midway boys’ basketball last finished with a winning record in 2007.
AMHS was unable to complete the sweep on Homecoming night, however, as Marmaton
Valley coasted to a 45-14 victory in the girls’ varsity contest.
Altoona-Midway will close out the home portion of its regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 13,
hosting Yates Center. It will be Parents Night at Milo Peterson Gymnasium. The Jets will
travel to Jayhawk-Linn on Friday, Feb. 16.
HOMECOMING
Ava Hufford was crowned AMHS Homecoming Queen and Lane Poeverlein was selected
as King during the 2024 coronation at halftime of the boys’ varsity game. Both honorees are
seniors and basketball players at Altoona-Midway.
Other members of the Homecoming Court included queen candidates Jyl Davis, Emmalynn
Pupanek and Summer Raymond, while the gentlemen nominees were Joey Lamendola,
Jacob Meigs, and Tyler Peyton.
Following the night’s cage action, a homecoming dance was held in the gymnasium. AMHS
boys’ head coach Dave Vance served as the DJ for the event.
AMHS BOYS
After squandering a 10-point first-half lead and trailing by four at halftime, Altoona-Midway needed a sparkplug heading into the third quarter. Junior reserve Joey Lamendola provided that spark. Lamendola scored five points shortly after intermission, but his true value came in the form of contagious energy which spread like wildfire to the entire Jet squad. AMHS bolted from the locker room in the third quarter with an explosive 16-2 run and turned a 29-25 deficit into a 41-32 lead entering the final stanza. “Joey really gave us a spark with his energy and effort,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “It spread to the rest of the team and they all played lights out from that point on.”
The Jets kept the Wildcats at arm’s length the rest of the way and eventually pulled away to
finish off the 58-44 Three Rivers League triumph. “We had a pretty good night tonight other than a defensive breakdown in the second quarter when we gave up 20 points,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “It was extra special tonight, being homecoming night with a lot of extracurricular activities. The guys did a good job of maintaining their focus on the basketball game and gave great effort.
“We also really appreciated the big crowd and the great cheering section,” Vance added. “It
was really loud in there, and it really does make a difference.”
Jacob Meigs and William Stackhouse led the Altoona-Midway offense with 19 and 16
points, respectively, while Kieran Foster also reached double figures with 10. In addition to
Lamendola’s five points, the Jets also got four points from Blaine Collins, three from Taj
Chism, and one from Lane Poeverlein.
“Jacob and William both had double doubles (12 and 11 rebounds), while Kieran chipped in
10 points and contributed four assists and five steals,” Vance noted. Stackhouse also recorded four assists and four steals. Collins, Chism and Foster each grabbed five important rebounds while Kage Beck hauled down three caroms.
“We had a great team effort on rebounds, especially in the second half,” the coach added.
“We also had some good efforts on free throws as William went 6-for-6 and Jacob 5-for-8.
It may not sound like much, but we are much improved on our free throws from last year.”
The win moved Altoona-Midway to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in the TRL, and assured the Jets of
their first winning season in 17 years. “We are very proud of these young men. The effort and improvement they have shown throughout the season has been great,” Vance said. “We hope to keep this win streak (three in a row and 9-of-12) going for the rest of the season.”
The last time the Jets finished above .500 was in 2006-07, when AMHS posted a 15-6 mark
under head coach Scott Ellis. That squad was led by a trio of all-Three Rivers League
performers in seniors Aaron Rehmert, Brian Powers, and Scott Reeves.
AMHS also picked up a win in the two-quarter junior varsity contest, 18-9. Taj Chism
paced the jayvee attack with six points while Lamendola and Aaryn Maple scored four
apiece and Kage Beck and Blake Nalley each added two.
AMHS GIRLS
The Altoona-Midway girls once again could not get the offense untracked as Marmaton
Valley rolled to a 45-14 victory. “Going in, we knew it was going to be a tough game, but they girls hung in there and did what I asked of them,” said Lady Jets head coach Jessica Porter. “We took a lot of shots, but they just didn’t fall.”
The Lady Wildcats jumped a 14-0 lead before Ava Tindle connected on a pair of free throws
to get AMHS on the board. It was 18-2 after one period of play, 25-6 at halftime, and 43-12
entering the final quarter, which was played with a running clock. “Despite falling behind early, the girls kept a good attitude, and showed effort all the way through the end of the game,” Porter noted. Summer Raymond connected on a three-pointer in the first half and three free throws in the second half to pace the Altoona-Midway offense with six points. Ava Hufford tallied three
points and Tindle and Chantal Morales each scored two. Emmalynn Pupanek, the Lady Jets’
leading scorer throughout the season was held to a single free throw by MVHS. Raymond and Hufford were credited with seven and six steals, respectively, while Tindle hauled down four rebounds for Altoona-Midway and Morales grabbed three. Payton Scharff poured in 12 points in the opening quarter for Marmaton Valley and finished the night with a game-high 20 points. Maria Forero also fired in 15 points for the Lady Cats.
The Lady Jets fell to 0-8 in Three Rivers League play and now stand 3-14 in all contests.
Marmaton Valley also posted a 13-4 win the girls’ JV tilt. Mika Parsons netted three points
and Peyton Drake added a free throw for AMHS.