Alto mauls the Cayuga Wildcats 51-0
ROBIN BEST
ROBIN BEST It had been hailed as Alto's biggest fight so far this year.

Senior l linebacker Lance Low lines up to blitz the Cayuga offense. Low led the Yellowjacket defense with 13 tackles. "He had a great night," said Head Coach Keith Gardner. Alto (7-0, 3-0) will travel to Cross Roads Friday. PHOTO: LEANN JONES

It wasn't. And not because Cayuga doesn't have a good football team.

Alto is just that good - again.

Alto completely dominated Cayuga Friday night in Yellowjacket Stadium by annihilating the Wildcats 51-0.

"I felt we played very well," said Coach Keith Gardner, head football coach for Alto. "We played great football all three phases (offense, defense and special teams) of the game."

The Cayuga Wildcats were 6-1 before Friday night and 2-0 in District 21-A play.

Cayuga had been dealt its only loss at the hands of the Carlisle Indians, who have been ranked as high as second in the state behind Alto earlier in the season.

"We are just glad we don't have to see them again this season," said Cayuga head football Coach Tommy Allison. "Alto is going to be the big school representing us in the district and after that. We wish them luck."

The Jackets exploded into the game Friday night at full strength.

Defensive standouts like senior linebacker Clayton Scott were back on the field playing well, returning from injuries.

Offensive/defensive linebacker Derek Mumphrey made his presence known repeatedly Friday night, blasting holes in the Cayuga defensive line, giving the offense an open lane for long runs.

"You know, I am very proud of our kids and how well they played," Coach Allison said. "It is a great opportunity for them to be able to play against a team of this caliber."

The game opened with Alto kicking off to Cayuga.

The Wildcats drove into Jacket territory before Alto junior defensive back Brandon Thacker picked off a pass thrown by Cayuga junior quarterback Broc January giving Alto the ball.

Alto senior quarterback Tarlandus Mitchell dashed 23 yards to give the Jackets a first down at the Alto 42.

A couple of plays later, Mitchell connected with junior wide receiver Kevin Blakemore on a 14-yard pass down to the Cayuga 27.

One minute later, Mitchell danced in for the first score with 7:17 remaining in the first quarter.

During the game, the Wildcats were only able to penetrate Alto territory a couple of times as the Jacket defense dominated the game.

"Scott had a good game as well as Lance Low," Coach Gardner said. "Lance led the team with 13 tackles. He had a great night."

Late in the first quarter, junior Jacket running back Marcuse Gasaway capped a scoring drive with a 21-yard dash to the end zone.

With 2:40 remaining in the opening quarter, Alto led 12-0 after a failed two-point conversion.

The Jackets' biggest challenge all night was corralling Cayuga Wildcat running back Traylon Shead. Shead is third in the state of all high school running backs, gaining a respectful 13 yards per carry.

The Jacket defense trimmed 10 yards per carry off of Shead's average, holding him to just over 3 yards per touch. Shead's longest runs Friday night included two 11-yard carries.

"He's a good running back," Coach Gardner said. "Our kids did a great job of keeping their eyes on him. We swarmed him the entire night."

Which is exactly what Yellowjackets should do.

Early in the second quarter, Mitchell added another score to give the Jackets an 18-0 lead, at just under 9 minutes.

Then with 4 minutes remaining in the first half, Mitchell connected with junior wide receiver Brandon Thacker for a spectacular 85-yard touchdown pass play. Following the PAT, the Jackets led 25-0.

Alto decided that 25 points was not enough of a lead, when Gasaway dashed 41 yards for pay dirt with 2:28 left in the second quarter. After the PAT, the Jackets retired from the first half with a 32-0 lead.

The Yellowjackets dominated in offense, defense and special teams, throughout the entire game.

"I thought Michael Parker did an excellent job," Coach Gardner said. "He made some vicious hits and caused two fumbles. He played with a lot of intensity."

Parker's effort combined with the Jacket defense to cause turmoil and 5 turnovers for Alto.

Jared Moore played hard making tackles, disrupting the Wildcat offense and recovering a fumble.

In the second half, Mitchell had two more touchdown runs including one for 7 yards and another for 36 yards.

Devon Patton did some fancy running himself, with a 47-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, prompting the officials to run the clock from the middle of the third quarter to the end of the game.

Looking forward, the Jackets will take on Crossroads Friday night in an away game. Crossroads is 2-8 and 1-2 in district play.

"Crossroads lines up in the shotgun and in the I," Coach Gardner said. "On defense, they run a five-man front and a little split. They have several real big kids.

"We want to win our games one at a time," he added. "We have our sights set on Crossroads right now. We want to continue to get better, so that we can be a well-rounded football team."