Two football neighbors haven’t been visiting each other lately, at least not at the varsity level.
But when 8-1 BGM comes to call on 8-0 Montezuma on Friday, Oct. 30, a lot will be at stake.
Kickoff at Badger-Gabriel Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. It will be the first Bears-Braves gridiron meeting since 2017.
It’s a third round game in the Class 8 playoffs. Just 16 teams are left, so the winner will earn a berth in the state quarterfinals.
Both teams are wound pretty tight around talented quarterbacks.
Montezuma’s Eddie Burgess has been involved in 89 percent of Montezuma’s 3,601 rushing and passing yards.
BGM’s Jacob Maurer has had direct impact on 82 percent of the Bears’ 3,523 yards.
Stats may be dry, but these teams have plenty of them! BGM is outscoring opponents by an average of 40 to 16. For Montezuma, those numbers are 58 and 21.
Maurer, a 5-8, 145-pound sophomore, has completed 65 percent of his passes, for 1,410 yards and 12 touchdowns. But, he runs a lot: 1,467 yards on 203 rushes and 20 touchdowns.
Burgess, a 6-4, 220-pound junior, has 2,227 passing yards, 958 rushing and he is a serious load when he runs. He has passed for 37 touchdowns and run for 21.
Burgess and Maurer rank one-two in all-purpose yards in Class 8 with 3,328 and 3,227, respectively.
The Braves have two electric receivers in Trey Shearer and Cole Watts. They rank first and second in Class 8 with 952 and 858 yards, respectively.
Shearer has 19 touchdown catches and Watts has 13.
BGM’s Jacob Moel (6-1, 160), has eight touchdown catches and ranks fifth with 693 yards. He’s also second to Shearer with his 49 catches.
Both teams play defense by committee, with many players showing up with meaningful contributions.
Of note is 10 sacks by BGM’s Joe Kasal, which ranks fifth in Class 8 for the 6-2, 210-pounder.
Burgess leads Montezuma in tackles with 54.5. Tanner Wright (5-8, 195) leads the Bears with 66.5, including 29.0 for losses.
BGM’s lone defeat was 20-6 to 9-0 Gladbrook-Reinbeck, which is one of the eight teams still remaining.
Looking for an edge? The schedules might hold part of an answer.
BGM opponents had a combined record of 32-43 (.430). The Bears played three teams with winning records, including HLV twice. BGM won by three and two points in those games.
Braves opponents went 34-32 (.520). Two teams had winning records and three were at .500.
Remember, schedules and districts are determined by the state.
BCMoore rankings, a computer-aided statistical service followed closely by basketball fans, now has power rankings out for high school football in Iowa.
BCMoore ranks Montezuma 7th in Class 8, and BGM 26th. As regards strength of schedule: Montezuma 32nd and BGM 56th.
But – computer crunched numbers don’t take into account things like emotion, which usually surfaces in a Montezuma-BGM game, or weather, which can be nasty in late October.
There’s about six barbed wire fences between Badger-Gabriel Field and International Falls, MN, so when you get a damp, north wind like last Friday, weather can be a factor!
The Bears and the Braves meet over the ball on Friday. Don’t miss it!
