The Montezuma Braves started the game as if their hair was on fire.
When you’re that hot, the opponent doesn’t want to get too close to you. And the BGM Bears didn’t.
The 4-0 Braves built a four-score lead and beat BGM 67-32 in Class 8 football on Friday evening, Sept. 10, in their home opener at Badger-Gabriel Field.
“The boys were dialed in and ready to go,” said Montezuma Coach John Beck. “We were not perfect but did our jobs really well and never gave up on a play.”
The Braves parlayed their 27-6 first quarter lead to a 53-26 bulge by halftime. They opened the second half with 14 points to start a continuous clock with 5:31 left in the third quarter.
Quarterback Eddie Burgess again was the maestro of the maelstrom that is Montezuma’s offense. The 6-4, 230-pound senior threw for 425 yards and six touchdowns. He ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
He caught an Owen Cook pass for 61 yards and one touchdown. That means Burgess was involved in 10 Braves touchdowns.
He intercepted a pass, too, and made 8.5 tackles. The Braves actually had to punt twice, and Burgess averaged 45.5 yards on those two kicks.
Owen Cook made his debut as a featured Montezuma receiver. He caught five passes for 224 yards and two scores, one of them a 76-yarder.
Cook stepped in a quarterback and completed two-of-three for 76 yards, including the scoring bomb to Burgess.
Cook also was in on 8.5 tackles, and did his usual heavy duty work as Montezuma’s place kicker.
The Braves gained 674 yards on 50 offensive snaps. Seven receivers caught passes, with Connor Van Zee catching four for 98 yards and two scores. Masin Shearer and Eli Bustamonte also had touchdown catches.
Van Zee, returning to action after missing last week, led the Braves with 10 tackles.
Marty Knox also returned to action with 6.5 tackles, with 1.5 going for lost yardage.
BGM fell to 1-2 with the defeat.
“It was a great team win over a big rival,” Beck said. “We went 1-0 on the week. That is our goal every week.”
UP NEXT – The Braves are at Melcher-Dallas on Friday, Sept. 17.
BRAVES STATS vs. BGM
Passing – Eddie Burgess was 15-26 for 425 yards and 6 touchdowns; Owen Cook was 2-3 for 76 yards and one touchdown; Garrett Watts was 1-for-3 for 2 yards.
Rushing – Burgess 13-161 and 3 touchdowns; Connor Van Zee 3-19, Masin Shearer 1-2, Garrett Watts 1-(-11).
Receiving – Cook 5-224 and 2 touchdowns; Van Zee 4-98 and 2 touchdowns; Cam Michalek 3-59, Burgess 1-61 and one touchdown; Shearer 3-40 and one touchdown; Eli Bustamonte 1-19 and one touchdown; Carter Michalek, 1-2.
Tackles – Van Zee 10.0, Cook 8.5, Burgess 8.5, Zach Bennett 7.0, Martavious Knox 6.5, Shearer 3.0, Carter Michalek 2.0, Bustamonte 2.0, Tod Geiger 2.0, David Rose 1.0, Watts 1.0, Matt Karadios, 1.0, Brett Plants, 0.5.
Tackles for loss – Knox 1.5, Geiger 1.0, Bennett 0.5.
Fumble recoveries – Bennett 1, Plants 1.
Kickoff returns – Rose 1-20, Shearer 1-2, De Jong 2-4.
Punt returns – Van Zee 1-8.
Interception returns – Cook 1-2, Van Zee 1-0, Burgess 1-0.
Kicking – Cook 10 kickoffs, 7 touchbacks, 489 yards. PAT’s 5-8.
Punts – Burgess 2-91.
Two-point conversions – Burgess 1.