Years ago, the police show “Dragnet” started out with the line, “The story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.”
There won’t be “innocents to protect” when Montezuma faces Grand View Christian Friday night at 8 in the Class 1A state semifinals at Wells Fargo Arena.
And the names – especially for Grand View Christian – are different.
We’ll soon see where the “truth” – in this case, a berth in Friday’s state championship game – lies.
Montezuma and Grand View Christian met in the 2019 semifinals. Current Montezuma seniors Trey Shearer, Cole Watts and Joey Kercheval played in that game, as did junior Eddie Burgess.
The Braves led 22-16 at halftime, and had to be thinking about being close to a championship appearance.
That didn’t happen. The Thunder outscored Montezuma 43-14 in the second half of a 59-36 win, then rolled by Alburnett in the title game.
Trey Shearer scored 13 points in that 2019 game, on five-for-21 shooting. Watts had 12, on four three-pointers. Burgess dished three assists and Kercheval had one.
It’s a different Grand View Christian bunch they’ll face this time. It’s a mostly underclass team. The roster lists 10 of them, including five of the top six stat producers.
The Thunder may not be as awe-inspiring as the 2019 state champions that beat the Braves, but they’re good in their own right. After going 12-8 and missing the tournament last year, they’re 21-1 this time around.
Grand View Christian features something Montezuma hasn’t encountered, a 6-11 center, but sophomore Daniel Tobiloba is one of just two members of the team listed as taller than 6-1.
Top scorer is 6-1 junior Manny Hammonds, who averages 20.1 points, 3.2 assists, and shoots .457 from the field.
Josh Baucum, a 6-0 junior, scores 15.4 points per outing, shoots .473, and dishes 2.4 assists.
Johnny Gatto, a 5-11 senior, scores 12.0 points and shoots .367 from the floor. He runs down 4.3 rebounds per game.
Tobiloba, the 6-11 center, averages 15.9 rebounds and 4.8 blocked shots per game. He also scores 10.3 points, and shoots .734.
Caleb Parlee, a 6-5 junior, scores 7.3 points and averages 5.8 rebounds.
Alandis Arrasmith, a 5-11 junior, averages 3.9 assists.
Grand View Christian plays the fifth-toughest Class 1A schedule, according to BCMoore Rankings. (Montezuma’s schedule: 89th, according to the service).
The Grand View defeat was 57-50 to Ottumwa, way back on Dec. 1.
Grand View Christian and Montezuma have a common opponent, a 19-3 Albia team. The Thunder beat Albia 69-56, while the Braves were 51-41 winners over the Blue Demons.
Montezuma averages 74 points on offense, second best in the class, while Grand View is at 73, third best. On defense, Montezuma gives up 47 per game, ranked 35th, while the Thunder yields 48, which is 39th.
Montezuma’s Trey Sheaer, a 5-10 senior, scores 25.4 points a game, shoots .574 from the field, including .472 from behind the arc. He’s a .748 free throw shooter he averages 4.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds.
Cole Watts, a 5-10 senior, scores 19.1 per game and shoots .586 from the field, including .497 on three-pointers. He’s a .750 free throw shooter. He also grabs 6.2 rebounds and dishes 3.7 assists.
The Braves, now 23-2, haven’t loss since 6-4 post forward Eddie Burgess returned to the lineup in January after missing the pre-holidays portion of the season.
Burgess scores 13.9 points and averages 12.7 rebounds. He shoots .714 from the field.
Masin Shearer, a 5-8 sophomore, scores 7.3 points per game and dishes 2.9 assists.
Starter Cam Johnson, 6-0, and rotation members Gavin Strong, 5-10, and Owen Cook, 6-1, are strong role players, Johnson and Cook primarily as defenders, while Strong can also give the team a quick shot of offense.
THE WINNER – Plays for the state championship at noon on Friday.