CHETOPA – A year ago, the Altoona-Midway Middle School basketball team had to wait eight games before recording its first victory of the season. This year’s Jet squad was bound and determined not to let that happen again.
The AMMS round-ballers wasted no time getting in the victory column in 2024-25, as the Jets opened their season on the winning side of the ledger, posting a 19-10 triumph over the Chetopa Hornets here Thursday afternoon.
“It’s always nice to start a new season with a win,” said AMMS head coach David Batzer. “It wasn’t always pretty, but after we got the first game jitters out of the way I thought we really controlled the game. There were a couple of defensive lapses that we need to clean up, but overall, I was pleased with the effort on both ends of the court.”
The Jets jumped to a 6-2 lead after one quarter and led 11-6 at halftime. Altoona-Midway enjoyed a 4-2 advantage in each of the final two periods to create the 19-10 final spread.
Caden Sicka led the Jets with nine points, while Zach Good supplied six points in a winning cause. Netting two points apiece were Broghan Douglas and Cameron Johnson. Sicka and Good also shared team-high rebounding honors with six boards apiece.
“The stat line shows the impact that Caden and Zach had on the game, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of our team effort,” Batzer pointed out. “For example, Eliot Ard had a great game. He only had two steals, but his active hands tipped several passes that led to turnovers, and he made really good decisions on the offensive end even though his shot wasn’t falling.
“And Eliot wasn’t the only one that made their presence felt outside of the box score,” the coach noted. “Everyone that played tonight did good things on the court.”
Brylan Berzas led Chetopa with six points.
AMMS has a quick turnaround and will open the home portion of its season on Monday, Dec. 9, when the Jets host Altamont Middle School at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
“We were only able to play an A game at Chetopa, but the rest of the squad will get into action Monday against Altamont,” Batzer said. “This year’s squad is made up of 16 kids (AMMS has a coed roster for the first time this season), which is a luxury we haven’t had in quite a few years. There will be plenty of minutes for the younger kids in the B and C team matchups.”
Tip-off for the first game of the evening is slated for 5 p.m. Monday.