Before you CAN, you must THINK you can.
The Montezuma football Braves do.
“The boys really have a good confidence to them in practice,” said head Coach John Beck. “They know they have put in the time and have worked hard since last winter. They have continued to grow.”
“They demand the best out of themselves and each other and when you have that, things seem to fall in place,” Beck said. “I know they are really itching to compete.”
Hayden Fry, the late Iowa Hawkeyes football coach, often said to “scratch where it itches.” The Braves will set out to start doing that when Iowa Valley comes to town for the Week 0 season opener.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, at Badger-Gabriel Field.
The Braves had 32 players on their roster at the start of practice on Aug. 1. “We have a good mix of young and old with some returnees coming back in some key spots,” Beck said.
Offensively, we are looking to be a balanced team,” Beck said. “We want to have multiple guys get the ball and make plays.”
“Owen Cook will take the wheel at quarterback,” said the coach. “He has done a great job in leading the offense. When throwing, he has some good ones to lean on as we have five or six guys I believe could play major roles behind him.”
“Masin Shearer is a known threat at the wide receiver spot, but will have some help with Eli Bustamante, Cruz De Jong, Garrett Watts and Alex Black all having a good first week of practice,” Beck said.
Last season, the Braves threw for 2,508 yards and rushed for 1,784. Graduated quarterback Eddie Burgess ran for 1,249 yards. Connor Van Zee, another graduate, was next at 229. So, where will some of those rushing yards come from this season?
“We have a trio of guys who can help out Cook in the run game,” Beck said. “Brett Plants, Marty Knox and Broox Stockman all have looked good with the ball in their hands,” the coach said.
“One thing is for sure in the game of football is that you cannot do much without some good guys up front blocking,” Beck said. “I have really been impressed with our offensive line this summer and feel they could be a strength of our team.”
“Kennen Roadcap, Tod Geiger, Houston Van Roekel and Peyton Minner have all looked good up front.”
One noticeable thing about the linemen is their height. Several are between 6-2 and 6-5. The potential there is leverage. “Yes, I am very excited about the frames of our linemen,” Beck said. “They have done a good job this ummer in trying to fill out those frames. It will be good to see their work pay off this fall.”
“Overall, we have some spots to fill from last year’s team, but we know we have some good talent to fill them,” Beck said.
“Defensively, we bring back a lot of dudes who have either started or had a role within our defense,” Beck said. “We were a pretty solid team last year, ranking in the top 10 in fewest points allowed per game. And we look to continue that this year,” he said.
“We have really focused on the fundamentals – tackling, reading keys, pass
coverage and getting off of blocks – so far this season,” Beck said. “We will always need to be good in those categories to get to where we want to be at the end of the season.”
“Our defensive line looks very solid this year, with a variety of guys getting reps there. “Tod Geiger, Kennen Roadcap, Peyton Minner, Briar Simpson, Landon Morrison, and Houston Van Roekel all have played well,” the coach said.
“Our linebackers also have taken a step forward this year with Brett Plants, Marty Knox, Cruz De Jong and Broox Stockman all getting in some good reps,” Beck said.
“In the defensive backfield, we have a good number of guys who can cover. Owen Cook and Eli Bustamante are returning starters,” the coach said. “David Rose and Carter Michalek also have impressed with their coverage skills.”
“We will have some good competition in the coming days to sort out a lot of this, but it is always good to have multiple guys who can step up on both sides of the ball and give us good looks,” said the coach.
New equipment purchased this year is helping the coaching staff measure physical improvements the Braves are making.
“Speed, agility and mobility were are major focus this summer within our workouts,” Beck said. “The data shows that the boys did get faster and stronger throughout the summer. Again, we are excited to see their hard work pay off.”
A look at the tackles chart from just about any game last fall reveals that a lot of Braves saw varsity action – and many of those players return this season.
“We do return a lot when in comes to guys with in-game experience,” Beck said. “We think that will help these guys as they transition to this year.”
And, that transition is about to manifest!
