By Keith Brake
Montezuma Magazine Editor
In a year filled with COVID-19 anxiety and uncertainty, Montezuma student-athletes and their families and fans got something many of their peers across the nation would envy: Fulfillment.
By that, I mean most sports were played to their conclusion and champions were determined.
Is that really important?
I think so. It’s normal. And normal isn’t something we’ve had a lot of.
Neighboring states have had seasons canceled or delayed. It is causing great gnashing of teeth.
In Montezuma, there was no boys or girls track seasons. There was no golf season, and shooting sports was limited. Baseball and softball seasons were delayed, and they played abbreviated schedules after they finally started.
Regarding shooting sports, Joey Kercheval made the most of his opportunity. In July, we learned that he met his goal of becoming a 2020 SASP (Scholastic Action Shooting Program) national champion yet again.
He competed in Center Fire Pistol & 1911 Pistol divisions, finishing as the champion in the high school division, while finishing in third place in the Rifle-Iron Sight.
The Montezuma student-athletes, their coaches, administrators and the community at large should be commended for their practices in fighting the virus.
Your young people have memories, including some very good ones.
This is a story about the year in review, and I’m not going to write a calendar with a bunch of dates. Instead, I’m going to go after some of the best.
In boys basketball, the Braves placed third in the Class 1A state tournament.
In girls cross country, the girls qualified for state for the first time ever.
In girls basketball, the Bravettes returned to the state finals, but were defeated in the quarterfinals.
Then, there was football. The Braves didn’t place first or second. They did make it to the UNI-Dome and the state semifinals.
When they did, they gave us four hours and one minute of sheer entertainment. It’s a localized version of “Do you remember where you were when . . .Pearl Harbor happened, John F. Kennedy was assassinated . . . 911 happened.?”
That game! Remsen-St. Mary’s 108, Montezuma 94.
Just a crazy 8-man football game. Five ties, eight lead changes.
Montezuma scored 14 touchdowns in 13:58 of possession time. That’s one per minute.
The Braves led 60-36 with 6:34 left in the third quarter. Then, St. Mary’s scored three touchdowns in 39 seconds. Two key Braves were injured and in eight-man, it doesn’t take long to put up points.
It’s like dam bursting.
St. Mary’s rolled to an easy win the next week in the championship game.
The Braves were quite a story all during a 10-1 season.
Quarterback Eddie Burgess and receivers Trey Shearer and Cole Watts were all-state players.
Burgess was in on 89 touchdowns, threw for almost 4,000 yards and had more than 5,000 all-purpose yards.
Shearer and Watts combined for 50 touchdown catches.
Who does that?
We remember moments, not entire events. That team gave us all many, many moments.
The basketball Braves brought home a third-place trophy after having placed fourth the year before.
While the football team burst upon the state scene, the basketball team was a known commodity.
Coach Derrick Dengler completed his third season with a record of 66-10, an .870 winning percentage. He coaches with a “trust in the process” philosophy.
The Braves were 22-3 overall, won the SICL for the second straight year, this time going unbeaten in league play.
Trey Shearer was named to the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association Class 1A all-state team, and was on the all-state tourney team for the second year in a row.
The Braves were 78-72 winners over West Fork in the third-place game. They were beaten by Wapsie Valley in the semifinals.
Montezuma’s girls basketball team of Coach Janel Burgess also won its second straight SICL crown and advanced to state again.
They lost 51-46 to Saint Ansgar in the quarterfinals and finished with a 23-2 record.
Shateah Wetering was an all-state player and took her speed and skills to the University of Iowa.
Elise Boulton, a senior this year, will take her talents to Simpson College.
The Bravettes cross country team qualified for the state meet, where they placed 15th overall. Senior Elise Boulton competed in her fourth straight state meet.
Elise won the individual championship at the Montezuma Invitational and led the Bravettes to back-to-back SICL titles for the first time in school history.
On the boys side, the Braves were 2nd in the SICL meet, their best finish since early in the 2,000s. Senior Brydon Henning will take his running skills to Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D.
The baseball and softball teams both had late starts and played abbreviated schedules.
Both teams finished strong to finish with .500 records, the softball team at 9-9, the baseball team at 7-7.
Montezuma’s wrestling team was short on numbers, but had quite a highlight when they met all-time Olympian and Iowa hero, Dan Gable, at a University of Iowa meet.
Finally, in our recap of highlights, we’ll note the 50th anniversary of Montezuma’s girls state championship team of 1970. The players were honored during the state tournament in Des Moines.
Good job, folks, and keep staying safe!