TESCOTT – A vast weather front brought cold, rainy, and harsh conditions across much of the state Friday night as Kansas high school football playoffs were conducted at several locations.
Naturally, those woeful conditions probably seemed even more miserable for the teams that suffered defeat – including the Altoona-Midway Jets – and thus saw their respective 2024 fall pigskin seasons come to a close.
The powerful Tescott Trojans brought an end to Altoona-Midway’s season, advancing to the next round of the playoffs with a resounding 62-12 victory in a 6-Man regional contest here Friday night.
“Well, a three-and-a-half-hour bus ride (one way) and a loss to a powerful Tescott team on a cold, rainy night was not how we wanted to end our season,” noted Altoona-Midway’s Randy Almond, who coached the Jets this season along with his brother Jeff.
“But this game does not define our season, our team, or our players,” Randy Almond continued. “I was very proud of all of my boys and as they played hard and grew together as a team, and as a family.”
Jeff Almond added, “It was a fun season getting to work with these kids. I’ve been with some of them since middle school, and it’s been rewarding to see their growth – not just as athletes, but as young men.”
Due to only 20 teams filling the 6-Man playoff bracket, both the Jets and the Trojans received first-round byes. AMHS concludes its season with an overall record of 3-5. Tescott, meanwhile, improves to 6-2 and advances to the Class 6-Man sectional round. The Trojans get to stay at home Friday, Nov. 15, when they host Peabody-Burns (7-1).
That quarterfinal matchup will be a rematch of an exciting regular-season opener contest back on Sept. 6, when Peabody-Burns squeezed out a narrow 40-39 victory over Tescott. Since that time, each squad has suffered just one defeat – both at the hands of undefeated Cunningham.
While Tescott dominated the scoring most of the evening, Altoona-Midway was successful in crossing the goal twice. Finding paydirt for the Jets were William Stackhouse and Kage Beck, who each recorded a touchdown for AMHS.
Due to the very unpleasant playing conditions, full game statistics were not available for the contest. With the loss, AMHS bid farewell to three Jet seniors – William Stackhouse, Kieran Foster and Joey Lamendola – who made their final football appearance for the Blue and Gold.
“I have enjoyed coaching all of these young men,” Randy Almond said. “I am both sad and excited for our three seniors who stepped up as leaders on and off the field – and I also have great expectations for the underclassmen who will carry on next year.”
Randy Almond also previously announced this would be his last season coaching the Jets … but not if his brother gets his way. “One of the best parts of the season was getting to coach football with my brother,” Jeff said. “This is his last season unless I can get him to change his mind. We definitely had a fun time together coaching the boys. It’s pretty special to coach with your brother.”