Finish plays. . .finish drives. . .finish games!
That’s what the Montezuma Braves football team will be working on when it hosts Baxter in non-district action on Friday, Oct. 11, at Badger-Gabriel Field.
Baxter often has been a worthy opponent for Montezuma, and you want a tough foe before finishing district play and moving into the playoffs.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Baxter is 3-3, against Montezuma’s 6-1.
The Bolts are scoring 39.0 points per game, 30th-best in Class 8. But if there’s an area of some concern for the visitors, it’s defense.
Baxter is giving up 43.5 points per game, and they’ll be across from a Braves offense that it scoring at a rate of 57.6 per game, 9th-best.
What’s more, Montezuma has given up just 17.6 points per game, which is 10th-best.
Perrin Sulzle, a 6-4, 210-pound senior, leads Baxter in passing and rushing. A tight end to start the season, Sulze has completed 63 of 105 pass attempts, good for 685 yards and 11 scores.
As a runner, Sulze has gained 806 yards on 114 carrie and another 11 touchdowns.
Top among several receivers has been Stadan Vansice, a 5-11, 170-pound junior, who has 29 grabs for 394 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Leading tackler has been Cainan Travis, a 6-4, 205-pound senior linebacker who has 44.0 stops, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
BCMoore Rankings has made the Braves a 33.7-point favorite.
Montezuma went into last week’s game against Belle Plaine as the #4 rated team in the Moore rankings. Belle Plaine was number 15.
Belle Plaine moved up two spots to #13 after their 28-24 loss to Montezuma.
The Braves, meanwhile, dropped from 4th to 15th, two spots below the team they had just defeated for a district title.
Go figure.
Aren’t you glad the playoffs get decided by the boys on the field, and not by a bunch of reporters and pollsters?