BUFFALO – One step at a time.
Teams can’t advance to the sub-state championship without winning the opening rounds, and the Altoona-Midway High School Jets successfully took the first step in accomplishing that goal here Tuesday night.
The Jets blasted the Burrton Chargers 58-20 in the opening round of the Class 1A-Division II sub-state playoffs in this season’s final performance before the home fans at Milo Peterson Gymnasium.
“It wasn’t a pretty game, but at this point, it’s survive and advance,” said AMHS head coach Dave Vance. “We did what we needed to do. We get to play again next week.”
Class 1A-DII Sub-State
Altoona-Midway, now 12-9 overall, advances to a semifinal matchup against South Haven (12-8) slated for 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, at South Haven, which is located about 20 miles west of Arkansas City.
South Haven advanced to the semifinals by virtue of a forfeit over Southern Coffey County (0-19).
The other sub-state semifinal Monday will pit top-seeded Elyria Christian School of McPherson (16-4), which received a first-round bye, against Waverly (4-16), 70-22 winners over Chetopa on Tuesday.
The two semifinal winners will square off Saturday, March 8, at Central Christian College in McPherson for the right to participate in the Class 1A-II State Tournament, to be held March 12-15 at Colby.
AMHS vs. Burrton
For the fourth time in six years, Altoona-Midway has advanced past the opening round of the sub-state playoffs.
And the Jets did so in convincing fashion, jumping to a 10-0 lead and a 16-2 advantage after the first period.
“We took advantage of a Burrton team that had to travel over two hours to get to the game, and we jumped on them early,” Vance noted. “Next week we’ll be the ones making a more than two-hour drive. We will have to be prepared.”
With the score 26-8, the Jets rattled off the final points of the half to go up 36-8. Kieran Foster and Kage Beck each had three points during the run and Taj Chism capped it off with a bucket.
AMHS increased the margin to 50-14 after three periods, and Beck tallied all eight points for the Jets during the final stanza.
Kieran led us in scoring during the first two quarters and Kage led us in the second half,” Vance noted. “William Stackhouse provided seven assists and 11 rebounds.
“It was a good effort on the boards tonight,” he continued. “Helping William out were Kage and Taj with seven apiece, and two freshmen, Chance Carter and Chance Mustain, hauled down six and five.”
Beck and Foster led the Jet offense with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Stackhouse had an off night and finished with eight points, while Chism and Joey Lamendola chipped in five each and Carter added four.
“Most of our scoring was done inside, as our three-point shots were not on, and neither were our free throws,” Vance said.
Noble Phillips was a bright spot for the Chargers, netting seven points and getting several steals. Justin Ballard added six for Burrton, which closed out its season at 0-16.
“We only had 14 turnovers this game, which is better than it has been,” Vance added. “But we are still going to have to do better to have a chance to be victorious against South Haven.
“Preparation starts now.”