It didn’t take the Montezuma Braves long to exploit an advantage they had against BGM: Speed at wide-out.
Two of the Braves’ first three plays from scrimmage were long catch-and-run touchdown passes from quarterback Eddie Burgess. The first was a 73-yarder to Cole Watts.
The second was to Trey Shearer and covered 64 yards.
The Braves didn’t look back and rolled to a 56-14 third round playoff win over the Bears on Friday, Oct. 30, at Badger-Gabriel Field.
Burgess had time to throw, thanks to the performance of Montezuma’s down linemen. That allowed the Braves’ fleet receivers to run free in BGM’s secondary.
The Braves’ down linemen kept the Bears from making long scoring drives to counter the Braves’ touchdowns.
“Our offensive and defensive lines played amazing and are the keys to success tonight,” said Braves Coach Pat O’Brien. “I am very proud of them.”
O’Brien said earlier in the week he was looking forward to seeing how a young Montezuma defensive front would hold up against an experienced and sizable BGM line that had been effective all season.
It was a third-round Class 8 playoff game, and sends the Braves into the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 6. It will be at Badger-Gabriel, against 9-1 Easton Valley, which inflicted the season’s first loss on Gladbrook-Reinbeck.
Burgess threw for six touchdowns and ran for two. Receivers Cole Watts and Trey Shearer each had three touchdown catches.
Montezuma led 15-0 after one quarter, 41-7 at halftime and 56-7 through three quarters.
After the Braves went up 15-0, BGM went for it on fourth and short yardage, but Brian Diaz and Camden Michalek blew up the play and the ball went over to Montezuma.
But Jacob Moel made a nice interception after the Bears got some pressure on Burgess. Mauer quickly passed 20 yards to Moel for the touchdown and it was game on again at 15-7 with 10:42 left in the half.
The Braves had been pass-only in the first quarter, but seeing a wide open field in front of him, Burgess dialed up his own number for his first running play, and he took it 46 yards to the house. It was 21-7, and a 26-point second quarter was under way for Montezuma.
Burgess finished at 16-for-26 passing, for 314 yards, the six touchdowns and one interception.
Watts had six catches for 171 yards and Shearer caught nine passes for 130 yards.
O’Brien worked a lot of players into the game, especially on the defensive side. Sixteen different Braves made tackles.
BGM quarterback Jacob Maurer, a sophomore, gained some rushing yardage and he passed to the Bears’ own strong receiver, Moel, on occasion.
Montezuma averaged 13.1 yards per snap in this game, to BGM’s 4.6.
The Braves had 457 rushing and passing yards on just 35 plays. BGM totaled 310 yards on 67 snaps.
BGM quarterback Maurer rushed 30 times for 175 yards, and was 12-for-27 through the air for 125 yards. Jacob Moel had seven catches for 97 yards.
But as BGM fell further behind, its long drives only served to kill clock and shorten the game for the Braves.
Early in the third quarter, Maurer threw a precision pass to Moel between two defenders, but Cole Watts reached in and stripped away the ball, with Masin Shearer recovering on Montezuma’s 20-yard line. There were nine minutes left in the third quarter, and the clock would go continuous after the next play.
Burgess and Watts connected on a 60-yard smart bomb and a two-point conversion pass to Watts made it 49-7.
Trey Shearer and Joey Kercheval also had two-point conversons, while Owen Cook was two-for-four on PAT kicks.
Burgess led Montezuma’s defenders with 7.0 tackles, including 1.5 for losses. Masin Shearer had 6.0 tackles, while Connor Van Zee, Joey Kercheval and Brian Diaz had 5.0 each and Tod Geiger had 4.5, with 1.5 for losses.
Masin Shearer and Kercheval each recovered fumbles for Montezuma.
BGM finished at 8-2, while Montezuma’s story continues at 9-0.
STUNNER AT GLADBROOK – The game opposite Montezuma’s in the “pod” was Easton Valley’s 55-0 romp over previously unbeaten Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Easton Valley will bring a 9-1 record to Monteuma on Friday.
“This Easton Valley team is going to be tough,” O’Brien said. “They are fast and athletic. It’s going to be a tremendous game.”
THE WINNER – Will advance to the semifinals in the UNIDome. Teams will be re-seeded and pairings announced.
Stats vs. BGM
Passing – Eddie Burgess was 16-26 for 314 yards, with six touchdowns and one interception.
Rushing – Burgess 4-83 and two touchdowns; Trey Shearer 2-(-9), Brady Ogan 3-(-15).
Receiving – Cole Watts 6-171 and three touchdowns; Trey Shearer 9-130 and three touchdowns; Joey Kercheval 1-13.
Tackles – Eddie Burgess 7.0 with 1.5 for loss; Masin Shearer 6.0, Connor Van Zee 5.0, Joey Kercheval 5.0, Brian Diaz 5.0, Tod Geiger 4.5 with 1.5 for loss; Cole Watts 3.0, Tyler Vanderford 2.5, Camden Michalek 2.0 with 1.5 for loss; Matt Karadios 2.0 with 1.5 for loss; Brady Ogan 1.0 with 2.0 for loss; Cruz DeJong 1.0, Garrett Watts 0.5, Landon Morrison 0.5 with 1.0 for loss; Keaton Stockoe 0.5, Owen cook 0.5 with 1.0 for loss.
Fumble recoveries/yards returned – Masin Shearer 1-2, Joey Kercheval 1-0.
Kickoff returns – Trey Shearer 2-0.
Punt returns – Brady Ogan 1-2.
Kicks – Owen Cook 9 kickoffs, 4 touchbacks, 359 yards. PAT’s – 2-4.
Punts – Trey Shearer 1-29.
Two-point conversions – Cole Watts 1, Trey Shearer 1, Joey Kercheval 1.
