One day, one game.
One team left to beat.
Montezuma, 24-2, and North Linn, 27-0, meet at noon on Friday in Wells Fargo Arena for the Class 1A state championship.
You can compare stats and rankings until you’re blue in the face. But it will come down to who executes better.
Which defense can make the other team’s shots more difficult?
Which side an find a more effective half-court set offense?
Both teams feature a lot of movement on both sides of the ball. Which will move better?
North Linn lost last year’s Class 2A championship game, but has won all 27 of its games this season.
The Braves have won 18 in a row.
BCMoore Rankings rates Montezuma’s schedule as the 72nd most difficult in Class 1A; North Linn’s as 73rd.
By comparison, Grand View Christian had the fourth-toughest schedule in 1A; Lake Mills was in at 57th.
North Linn, the tournament’s top seed, has remained at number three in the BCMoore rankings through the tournament so far. Montezuma has moved up from ninth to sixth.
The leader? Lake Mills, but of course, they’re gone.
Montezuma played a game at North Linn two years ago, when all-stater Jake Hilmer and his teammates ran past the Braves. That was a powerhouse Class 2A champion. Hilmer’s younger brother, Austin, leads this year’s squad.
The big moment is almost at hand and Braves’ senior Cole Watts told Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette about it.
“The first word that probably pops to mind is excited,” Watts said. “Then shocked, stunned. This is something we’ve always dreamed about, something we’ve always talked about.”
Let the game begin!
North Linn Stat Leaders
Austin Hilmer, 5-10 junior – 17.6 points, .461 field goal shooting, .367 on three-pointers. 7.9 assists.
Tate Haughenbury, 6-3 sophomore, 15.7 points, .660 shooter, 6.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists.
Dylan Kurt, 6-2 junior, 14.5 points, .521 shooter, .380 three-point shooter, 3.3 assists.
Cade Haughenbury, 6-2 junior, 5.1 rebounds.
Kaleb Kurt, 6-2 junior, 3.4 rebounds.
Team – shoots .716 from the free throw line.
Montezuma Stat Leaders
Trey Shearer, 5-10 senior, 25.1 points, .569 shooter on field goals, .466 on threes. .759 free throw shooter. 5.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists.
Cole Watts, 5-10 senior, 18.8 points, .579 shooter, .493 on threes, .750 on free throws. 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists.
Eddie Burgess, 6-4 junior, 13.5 points, .701 field goal shooter, 12.8 rebounds.
Masin Shearer, 5-8 sophomore, 8.0 points, 2.8 assists.
Team – .684 free throw shooters.