In war, even sophisticated weapons won’t help your side to victory unless you have a delivery system.
The Montezuma Braves certainly have a sophisticated weapon in quarterback/linebacker Eddie Burgess. And some other weapons that complement his talents.
What gets those weapons to the point of attack?
The play of the Montezuma linemen.
And Burgess is the first to tell you that.
It all clicked in the Braves’ 45-24 victory over a tough and skilled Baxter Class 8 team on Friday, Oct. 8, over at their place.
Coach John Beck praised the play of his lines on both sides of the ball.
“We knew if we were going to win, we would need to win it at the line of scrimmage,” Beck said.
“Kennen Roadcap, Jack Brenner and TJ Townsend blocked very well,” Beck said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage most of the game.”
“Our receivers and backs did a really good job of finding the soft spots in the Baxter zone defense,” said Montezuma’s coach. “Baxter played primarily a cover-three and the boys did a good job of adjusting to that,” Beck said.
“Masin Shearer and Connor Van Zee both had a really nice game and did a lot of things well after catches,” he added.
Shearer caught eight passes for 111 yards and menaced Baxter with his speed.
Van Zee caught four balls for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
“Owen Cook, Camden Michalek and Eli Bustamonte all did great things when their numbers were called (on pass plays), but also did a great job blocking for their teammates downfield,” the coach said.
“Eddie (Burgess) continues to lead the offense and make it click the way it needs to,” said Montezuma’s coach. “Physically, he does all the things that we need him to do and then some.”
“What really separates Eddie from the other quarterbacks in the state is his ability to make checks and reads at he line to put our offense in the best positions possible,” Beck said.
“Defensively, we had to feel them out in that first half,” Beck said. “Our guys did a great job adjusting as we went on.”
Beck said the Braves’ defensive linemen “did a great job keeping our linebackers free and that allowed them to flow free and make plays.”
“We rotate around five guys (in this game Zach Bennett, Tod Geiger, Gabe Wearmouth, Matt Karadios and Keatyn Stokoe) in there and they give us everything they have for the reps they get,” Beck said. “That won us the ballgame. It allowed for Burgess, Brett Plants and Van Zee to run around and make plays.”
“On the outside, Owen Cook and Eli Bustamonte did a great job,” the coach said. “Baxter has some very athletic dudes on the outside and Owen and Eli persevered and made some key plays down the stretch.”
And, have you noticed how well the Braves have improved their open field tackling? They’re assassins out there. They get their guys.
“Our ability to tackle in space also was a factor in the win,” Beck said. Holding them to two or three yards, instead of five, is big for our defense.”
So, no game Friday. Woodward Academy had some size and speed, despite not winning any games, but the Braves won’t have to deal with that.
Now it’s get healthy, keep working on technique, and be ready to play on Friday, Oct. 22.