By Keith Brake
Montezuma Magazine Editor
Montezuma Braves fans no doubt wondered for a while whether senior Cole Watts would play football or basketball in college.
After all, he earned all-state honors in both sports.
It turns out Cole wondered about that himself.
He was sure about attending Simpson College in Indianola.
In Cole’s mind, first it was football. Then, basketball started ruling his thinking.
Cole will bid a fond farewell to the gridiron sport – for now, at least – after his appearance in the Iowa Shrine All-Star Football Classic on Saturday, July 24, in Cedar Falls.
The game starts at 4 p.m. in the UNIDome. Gates will open at 2. Tickets are available online, and plans are to sell them at the gate the day of the game.
This will be the 49th annual Iowa Shrine Bowl, which has raised just short of $2.8 million for Shriner’s hospitals since its inception in 1973.
“I didn’t know much about it (the Shrine Bowl) until after I was nominated,” Watts said. He knows more now and is happy to be part of it.
“Strong legs run that weak legs may walk,” is one of the themes of the event.
Cole was nominated by his Montezuma coaches. Rob Luther of Baxter is head coach of the South team, which Cole will play for, and Watts was contacted by the Baxter staff to join the team as a wide receiver.
Good choice! This past year, playing 8-man ball for the Braves, Watts caught 60 passes for 1,414 yards, averaging 23.6 yards per catch. He had 19 touchdown receptions. On defense, he added seven interceptions and was in on 61.5 tackles, a monster number for a defensive back.
Then came Montezuma’s Class 1A state championship basketball season. Cole averaged 18.5 points, and did it on .567 shooting from the field, including .490 from behind the three-point line. He shot .750 from the free throw line and averaged 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
How did Simpson’s basketball staff handle Cole’s plans to play in a summer football game?
“They were all for it,” Watts said. “I have a love for football and they respect it.”
The Iowa Shrine Bowl Game is between selected pre-college athletes on each side of a north-south dividing line (generally, U.S. 30) in Iowa.
The game brings honor and recognition to the players, their schools and the communities. It has also been an effective tool in raising money for The Shriner’s Hospitals for Children.
There are 19 such orthopedic hospitals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. There are three burn centers in the U.S. and one unit in the U.S. that treats all kinds of cases.
There are four Shrine Centers in Iowa, the closest of which Is Za-Ga-Zig Shrine in Altoona.
Ticket sales, advertising in the Shrine Bowl program, merchandise sales, contributions and sponsorships are ways money is raised in connection with the Shrine Bowl.
Each player is expected to sell a minimum of $1,000 in advertising into the program. Cole already has passed that goal. “The money is going for a good cause,” Watts said.
This year’s financial goal is $100,000, which would be a record.
Over the years, several other Braves have participated in this event.
Cole will report for Shrine Bowl practices on July 18.
“One of the first things we do is appear at the Shrine Bowl mini-camp, which is for patients from some of the Shriner’s hopsitals,” Watts said.
That has been described as a “moving” event for camp participants and players.
There are 46 players on each side team, from all classes of Iowa high school football. There are also cheerleaders from around the state, and a dance team from Pleasantville.
Participants are kept busy. “They take away our car keys!” Cole said.
There will be a movie night, a visit to a water park and a hog roast on different nights. There will be team nights, so the players can relax and bond.
There is a big parade on Main Street in Cedar Falls that starts at 9:30 a.m. on game day, Saturday, July 24.
As mentioned, Watts will be playing on the South team. The series is tied at 23-23-1. There was no game last year because of COVID.
Cole knows three other players on the South squad: Levi Weldon of Williamsburg, Brady Duwa from Keota, who played for Sigourney-Keota, and Taurice Grant of Meskwaki.
“I probably will room with Taurice,” Cole said.
For the immediate future, Watts is getting ready for Montezuma’s golf season, then baseball after that.
“Basketball, at Simpson, will start Oct. 15,” Cole said.
(Al Rabenold contributed to this story).
MORE INFORMATION about the Iowa Shrine Bowl and information about how to donate is available at the Shrine Bowl’s website: www.Iowashrinebowl.org