“We have put ourselves in a great position with a chance to win a district title on Friday,” said Montezuma football Coach John Beck.
“In the off-season, this was one of our main goals and we have a wonderful opportunity on Friday to go out and compete for it.”
The District 7 championship game kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at Badger-Gabriel Field.
Baxter is 6-0. Montezuma is 5-2.
Both are unbeaten in district play, and both are headed for the post-season, regardless of Friday’s result.
“Baxter is a great team,” Beck said. “They are disciplined, explosive, and tackle well. They are undefeated and play like it. We will need to play well and be ready to go from the start.”
One common opponent, BGM, offers an interesting comparison.
Baxter beat the Bears 46-44. Montezuma beat BGM 54-50.
“Baxter has a very dynamic quarterback and have a lot of good athletes around him,” Beck said.
The quarterback is Cody Damman (#6), a 5-10, 165-pounder who has completed a stunning 61 of 82 pass attempts for 965 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Dammann has also rushed 76 times for 899 yards and 19 scores.
One of those athletes around him is (#5), Jack Travis, a 5-9, 180-pounder who has caught 26 passes for 428 yards and six scores. Travis also leads the team with 54 tackles, including 12 sacks.
“Their line is big and plays their schemes really well,” Beck said. “We will need to be very disciplined with our keys.”
“Defensively, they run a 2-3 look with a zone coverage behind,” the coach said. “They have one linebacker that plays more like an end, while another is more of their coverage guy. They have a very good safety who tackles well and is always flying to the ball.”
“This is the kind of game where it comes down to physicality, discipline and leadership,” Beck said. “I am excited for the challenge our kids have earned and cannot wait to see them go out and compete on Friday.”
Looking back at Twin Cedars, Beck said, “I was very pleased with how we took care of the ball offensively and limited the penalties.”
The Braves struggled some in those categories the week before.
“We got the ball to a lot of guys and we were very efficient with our possessions,” Beck said.
Montezuma needed just 30 snaps on offense to generate 438 total yards, an average of 14.6 per play.
“Defensively, we did a great job pursuing to the ball and we forced a lot of turnovers,” Beck said.
“I thought we tackled well in space and read our keys well,” said the coach. “There were a few screens that they threw at us that we will need to fix for this upcoming week, but it was good to see that and know what we need to work on.”
“We had a few guys dinged up this past week and we hope to have them back for this Friday,” Beck said. “If not, it is next man up, and I know whoever is called upon will be up to the challenge.”
OWEN #5 ALL TIME! – Owen Cook’s 10 point after touchdown kicks against Twin Cedars put him in fifth place all-time in the Iowa 8-man football record books! Congratulations, Owen!
