MONTEZUMA – Montezuma’s eight-game regular season schedule won’t deny fans a chance to see nine games, after all.
The Braves’ 63-28 win over Baxter, and some turns and twists elsewhere around the state, will bring East Union of Afton to Montezuma on Friday night, Oct. 24, for a first-round Class 8 playoff game at Badger-Gabriel Field.
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
Baxter (3-5) had a pretty good offensive team. But their defense failed to force a Braves punt all night.
Montezuma led 6-0 after one quarter, “but it turned into a battle of opportunities after that,” said Braves Coach John Beck. The Braves forced several turnovers into scores during a 24-point second quarter, which left them with a 30-14 halftime lead.
“The guys really wanted to play one more game at Badger-Gabriel,” Beck said.
The Braves outscored Baxter 20-8 in the third quarter to take their lead out to 44-22, then finished if off with a 19-6 closing period.
The Braves rushed for 266 yards and six touchdowns, and threw for 159 yards and three more scores.
Quarterback Brady Boulton was 8-for-13 passing for 159 yards and three Tds.
He rushed for 118 yards on 14 carries, for three more Tds.
Three Braves caught touchdown passes, including Dane Strong, who caught three passes in all for 82 yards.
Broox Stockman rushed 15 times for 112 yards and 2 TD. Stockman also scored 3 TD rushing, and had 152 yards on 15 carries.
Stockman led tacklers with 11.5 stops, including 10 solo stops. Braxton Plants had 10 tackles, including six solo and 4.0 tackles for loss.
Wyllie Walters had 9,0 tackles, with 1.5 for loss.
Beck expects a tough game from East Union. “They faced playoff teams in their first five games,” Beck said. “They played a close game against Lenox (the team that ended the Braves’ season last year). “They’re a good football team.”
Both teams enter with 6-2 records.
“Our offensive line has improved all year,” Beck said, “and our defense has improved big.”
PLAYOFF NOTES – Afton is in southwest Iowa, 138 miles from Montezuma. It will take them 2 hours and 22 minutes to drive here. LuLu and LeRoy visited the county fair several times to do balloons for the kids. It’s a western scene there, with many young people wearing cowboy or cowgirl outfits . . .Wayne beat Southeast Warren last week, meaning those two teams and the Braves ended in a three-way tie for the district title. Montezuma got the number two seed because Montezuma beat Wayne in their head-to-head matchup.