Alto takes down Cushing 27-8: Stinging Yellowjacket air attack bests Bearkats

With 541 yards of total offense, the Alto Yellowjackets overwhelmed Cushing 27-8 in Alto Friday night.

Junior Jacket quarterback Harmon West (No. 10) dazzled the Bearkats with 171 yards passing, completing nine of 15 passes, with one touchdown and no interceptions.

The aerial assault garnered 19 yards-per-catch, led by junior receiver Skylar Atkins (No. 19) who netted three catches for 69 yards including one touchdown, with 23 yards-per-catch.

Senior receiver Dalton Mabry (No. 11) had three catches for 78 yards, netting 28 yards-per-catch.

“I thought it went really well,” said Alto head football Coach Ricky Meeks. “Our kids came out early, competed well. We did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball.”

Alto accepted the opening kickoff and drove down to the Bearkat 21-yard line, before losing the ball on a fumble at the Cushing 21-yard line.

Senior Cushing quarterback Deuce Garrett (No. 2) completed passes to wide receivers such as sophomore receiver Asa Dawson (No. 33) and senior wide receiver Keyontae Rollison (No. 3).

Garrett completed eight of 15 passes for a total of 71 yards passing for the night.

But the real stars of the evening were the defensive players for Alto, who limited Cushing to 108 yards total offense, including 71 yards receiving and only 37 yards rushing on 37 attempts.

The Bearkats were shut down at an average of one yard-per-carry on rushing.

“We played a good team,” said Cushing head football Coach Josh Moore following the game. “They were well coached.”

While Moore expressed disappointment in the Bearkat defensive effort for the night, he noted he was proud of is players for battling the Jackets for all four quarters.

Alto’s defensive attack was led by junior defensive lineman Cayle Irvin (No. 55) who had 13 tackles on the night, including 3 TFLs, and 2 sacks.

Other Defensive high points included West, who had eight tackles, one TFL and one interception; defensive lineman junior Foster Hall (No. 60), with eight tackles, two TFLs, and one sack; junior Keithen Jenkins (No. 15), with seven tackles, 1 TFL, and a fumble recovery; and Mabry with three tackles and one interception.

Offensive stats were improved by good blocking efforts by players, such as junior TE Ki’alo Deason (No. 18) whose intense blocks opened up holes in the Bearkat defense for Alto rushers.

Alto’s first score was a 64 yard rush by sophomore running back Vi’Dareous High (No. 2), who blasted through the Bearkat defense 70 yards on an Alto second-and-six from the Yellowjacket 30 yard line. With 5:33 remaining in the opening quarter, Alto was up 6-zip.

A Cushing three-and-out, followed by a busted play on a fourth-and-three led to a quick over-on-downs by the Jackets who started with a first-and-10 at the Cushing 25 yard line. Two plays later, High latched onto a 25-yard West TD pass.

Senior running back Fred Thacker (No. 2) bruised his way in for the two-point conversion and with 3:15 remaining in the opening quarter, Alto was up 14-0.

“We want to clean up our middle line and tackling,” said Coach Moore. At 5-2, the Bearkats remain optimistic about a promising season that could lead to a potential playoff berth.

While Alto had two touchdowns called back by penalties during the game, the Jackets continued to put forth a might Mean-Sting effort to dominate Cushing.

Alto’s third score came on the opening play of the second quarter when Atkins caught a nine-yard pass from West. With 11:53 remaining in the opening half, the Jackets went up 27-nothing.

In the second quarter, High rushed into the zone from one yard out. With 6:42 remaining in the third, Alto was up 27-nothing following a successful PAT.

Cushing’s lone-score for the evening came erly in the fourth quarter, when junior running back Thomas Wallace (No. 15) dashed into the end zone from 25-yards out. Topping it off with a PAT, with 11:12 remaining in the game, the Bearkats narrowed the score to 27-8, Alto.

The Yellowjackets held on through the fourth quarter to carry the score to 27-8, Alto.

Friday night, both teams entertain high playoff hopes with Alto traveling to Hawkins north of Tyler to engage the Hawkins Hawks, while the Bearkats will host the Union Grove Lions.