Alto saws Rams' horns off, 47-6
Mean Sting faces Granger in state semi-final action Friday at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville
ROBIN BEST

Senior running back Devon Patton breaks open for a 44-yard touchdown run during Alto's 47-6 victory over the Joaquin Rams in Tatum on Friday. The Yellowjackets (12-0) advance to the state semi-finals to face Granger (12-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, at Bowers Stadium on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. PHOTO: LEANN JONES

TATUM - It just wasn't Joaquin's night.

Pent up from being held back against Groveton the week before by frigid temperatures and driving rain, the Alto Yellowjackets took out their frustrations on the hapless Rams Saturday night in Tatum, blowing out Joaquin 47-6.

"I thought we played a pretty good game, offensively and defensively," said Alto Yellojackets offensive coordinator and front line Coach Paul Gould. "We scored a lot of points.

"Going into the game, we really felt that the game was going to be a lot closer," he added. "We were really pleased with the way things turned out."

It didn't take the Jackets long to let Joaquin know that things weren't going their way. After the Rams went three-and-out on their opening possession, Alto began their first drive on the Ram 45 yard line. On second and eight, senior quarterback Tarlandus Mitchell connected on a 39-yard pass to junior wide receiver Mark Green who took it to the six. On the next play, Mitchell dashed six yards for pay dirt and following a Colton Crisp PAT, the Jackets led 7- 0 with 9:02 remaining in the first quarter.

"They had a different defensive front than what we had seen on film," Coach Gould said. "I thought our offensive line adapted to their scheme very well. We were able to move against them and bite off big chunks of yardage."

Mitchell's pass was the first of several for the night. By the end of the game, Mitchell had a banner night, completing 8 of 12 for 160 yards, two touchdowns, rushed for 98 yards and on defense intercepted two Ram passes.

"I don't think they knew we could pass as well as we could," Coach Gould said. "I think that we were able to catch them by surprise. We were able to complete some passes that really hurt them and that helped us to put a lot of points on the board."

On their next possession, the Rams succumbed to the relentless swarm of Yellowjackets on their offense and punted the ball back to Alto with 6:23 remaining in the first.

Alto was able to put together a drive that ended when Mitchell made a 1-yard dive into the end zone for his second touchdown, with 2:20 left in the first.

After a failed PAT, the Jackets led 13-zip.

"Defensively, I thought we had a real good game plan going into this game," Coach Gould said. "We did some things up front that they hadn't seen this year and we were able to give their offensive line some fits.

"They weren't able to run a lot up front," he added. "And they aren't a passing team. Coach Gardner put together a great game plan. We kept them down to around 100 yards rushing for the game and they had been averaging about 400 a game, so we had a good night."

In the second quarter, Joaquin was still not able to put any points on the board.

But the Jackets did. Scores were added by junior running back Brandon Thacker with a pass reception followed by a Mitchell two-point-conversion. Junior running back sensation Marcuse Gasaway decided it was his turn to get in on the fun, when he ripped a ball away on defense, and galloped 46 yards for a touchdown.

The scoring began to reveal the Jacket depth, when the final TD of the first half was scored by senior running back Devon Patton who ran 44 yards for a touchdown.

By the time the dust settled on the turf for the bands to march, Alto held a commanding 34-0 lead.

"In the third quarter, they started giving us a little bit of a problem with some blitzes and we had an answer for some of the things they did," Coach Gould said. "But by that time, we were so far ahead that they weren't going to be able to make up for it offensively."

Joaquin's only score of the night came with 5:50 left in the third, when senior Ram running back Patrick Gandy took advantage of an Alto muffed punt on the 5 yard line by scoring a touchdown on first and goal. A two-point-conversion failed and the final Joaquin score of 6 points was frozen into the scoreboard with Alto leading with 34.

Coach Gould gave the nod to the YellowJacket defensive line for unsung hero recognition for the game.

"Derek Mumphrey, Makio Houston and Demarcus Griffin," Coach Gould said. "Those three guys did such a great job. On Monday, we outlined our strategy for the game to them. We said they weren't going to get a lot of tackles, but we need you to keep their offensive linemen off of our linebackers.

"They bought into it 100 percent," Gould added. "The strategy worked well and they did a great job."

In the fourth quarter, Mitchell tossed a 56 yard touchdown pass to Green and Griffin left burned shoe tread down the field with a 30 yard scoring run.

By the time the Rams said "Uncle" the Jackets had put them away 47-6.

This Friday, the Jackets will face off against Granger at 7:30 p.m. at Sam Houston State University's Bowers Stadium in Huntsville.

"They are big, strong and pretty fast," Coach Gould said. "They are a good, good, good football team. It is going to be a ball game Friday night. They run the veer. They are a triple-option team and they run it as well as we have seen anybody do it all year. They have a good quarterback and two good running backs that are really special.

"We are going to have to play a complete ball game all four quarters to win the game," he added.