MONTEZUMA – Tell me you didn’t get your money’s worth from THAT game!
“Cool Hands Luke” Brennan didn’t know he was going to play such a key role, until the Montezuma defensive back looked into the Belle Plaine quarterback’s eyes with 1:25 left to play.
The Braves led 28-24, but had just yielded a touchdown and a Belle Plaine onside kickoff recovery.
It was tense time at Badger-Gabriel.
The quarterback’s arm cocked, then snapped forward … and so did Brennan, making the key play of the night – an interception.
The Braves ran out the final seconds, and it was Class 8 district championship time, and a spot in the post-season playoffs, all rolled into one impromptu celebration on a perfect early October evening.
A great football game it was – a real slobber-knocker – or maybe you’d like to call it a ‘coronary colossal.’
The teams turned out to be well-matched and the game’s wild finish made a lot of parents, grandparents and close friends very, very nervous!
Several times, the Braves put Belle Plaine in the proverbial box. Once, the Plainesmen popped the lid and got out and ran around for a few minutes. The Braves rounded them up, threw ’em back in and made it stick.
Braves receiver Lars Taylor did a great job getting himself open on a pair of touchdown pass plays. The first came midway through the first quarter, and quarterback Brady Boulton connected on the 37-yard play to put Montezuma up 7-0.
The score went to 7-2 when the Braves snapped the ball through the end zone on what was to be an attempted punt.
Quarterback Ty Alcott gave Belle Plaine its only lead with a short run, to make it 10-7.
That lead didn’t last long, because Boulton ran six yards for a score. Alex Becceril kicked the second of his four PATs, and the Braves were back up, 14-10.
Montezuma mixed run and pass plays well, which helped with time management and field position.
Boulton dropped a dime 32 yards to receiver David Rose, and the Braves led 21-10 at halftime.
The Braves were driving early in the third quarter when Boulton threw an interception. Alcott scored on a five-yard run, the Plainesmen made a two-point conversion, and it was 21-18 and game on with 4:01 left in the third.
Boulton and Taylor connected again, this time from 13 yards, and the Braves went up 28-18 with 3:00 left in the game.
But Belle Plaine kept working. The Plainesmen converted on fourth and one and had first down at Montezuma’s 28. The Plainesmen threw a touchdown pass, and it was 28-24 with 1:48 left.
You knew an onside kickoff was coming…it did, and Belle Plaine recovered with 1:36 left.
Next came Brennan’s interception, on a third-and-12 play. He returned it 13 yards to get the ball to midfield, and the Braves ran out the clock.
It was reported that in Class 8, the Braves were the first unranked team to beat a rated team (#9) in Class 8, according to The Associated Press poll.
However, BCMoore Rankings might dispute some of that, because it had rated the Braves 4th and Belle Plaine 15th coming in.
The Braves passed for 113 yards and rushed for 196, Boulton leading with 104 yards on 22 carries. Brett Plants and Broox Stockman had equal number of tough inside yards.
Luke Erselius led Braves tacklers with 9.0, including 5 solo and 0.5 tackles for loss. Brett Plants had 8.0 tackles, with four solo.
Montezuma defenders continued to be assassins in the open field, with 22 solo stops included in 47.0 total tackles.
The Braves are 6-1, but unbeaten champions in district play. They host Baxter next week before finishing up with Twin Cedars.
Belle Plaine fell to 5-1 with its first district defeat.
Montezuma 28, Belle Plaine 24
Score by quarters
Belle Plaine 0 10 8 6 – 24
Montezuma 7 14 0 7 – 28
Braves stats
Passing – Brady Boulton 6-14, 113 yards, 3 touchdowns.
Rushing – Boulton 22-104, one touchdown; Broox Stockman 10-58; Brett Plants 18-57. TOTALS – 50-196, one touchdown.
Receiving – David Rose, 3-50, one touchdown; Lars Taylor 2-47, two touchdowns; Brook Stockman 1-6. TOTALS – 6 for 113, three touchdowns.
Tackles – Luke Erselius 9.0 with (5) solo, 0.5 tackles for loss; Brett Plants 8.0 (4); Boulton 0.5; Carter Michalek 2.5 (2); Dane Strong 1.5 (1); Rose 6.0 (3); Stockman 5.5 (2) one TFL; Alex Becerril 1.0 (1); Taylor 0.5; Braxton Plants 1.5, 0.5 TFL; Houston Van Roekel 4.5 (2); Briar Simpson 5.0 (2), 0.5 TFL; Isaac Wedgewood 2.0 (2) 0.5 TFL; Blake Smith 1.0, 0.5 TFL. TOTALS – 47.0 (22), 3.0 TFL.
Interception – Brennan 1-13.
Kicking – Alex Becceril 6 kickoffs for 278 yards. 4-4 on PATs.
Punts – none.