“That was a really good win for our program,” Braves football Coach John Beck said about his team’s 47-28 win over Southeast Warren last Friday, Aug. 25.
“Southeast Warren is a good team and was a great test early on. It is a program that is run the right way and will be looking to compete for the title in its district,” Beck said.
“We had a fast start. The heat played a big role as the night went on,” Beck said. “We suffered a lot of cramps and had to use our depth quite a bit.”
The coach was happy with how well the Braves ran the ball early in the game. “Our guys up front created some good movement and we brought the physicality,” Beck said.“We used five and six guys up front thoughout the night, giving them plenty of breaks to make sure they were as fresh as they could be on both sides of the ball,” the coach said.
“Tod Geiger and company need to continue this trend as we move into district play,” Beck added.
The coach said he was happy with how many guys contributed to Montezuma’s passing game. “We did a good job of sitting in zones and giving Brady (Boulton) some targets,” Beck said. “When you have three to five guys who can go get a ball, it makes it hard on a defense.”
Beck said the Braves still need work on routes and timing.
“In the running game, we ripped off some big gains, but we also were content with getting the hard yards when needed,” he said.
“Broox Stockman and David Rose did a good job of running downhill when called upon, and then using their speed on our outside runs,” Beck said.
“Brady Boulton was very good in the run game and making decisions in general,” said the coach. “He has done a good job of making the right play at the right time and not forcing anything.”
“And, we need to continue to take care of the football, as that has been a big difference in both of the games we have played,” Beck said.
“Defensively, it again starts with the guys up front,” Beck said. “Landon Morrison, Tod Geiger and Braxton Plants got the starts there, but guys like Briar Simpson, Breck Simpson and Houston VanRoekel rotated in and got the job done. They played their assignments well and only had a few mental lapses.”
“Our linebackers did a good job with Broox Stockman, Cruz De Jong and Garrett Watts going some very nice things,” said the coach. “Garrett did a great job with his assignment this week and did very well with in-game adjustments.”
“Luke Erselius stepped up big and game us a lot of minutes,” Montezuma’s coach said. “Our secondary guys continue to improve week by week. I like what I see out of coverage from them and we continue to go up and get our hands on the ball.”
“We need to continue to improve our tackling and staying locked in to our assignments,” Beck said. “But, I’m very pleased with where we are, going into district play.”
That begins Friday evening, Sept. 1, in Moravia. The Mohawks are 1-1, but took a 63-20 pounding from Bedford last Friday.
“They have an explosive offense, led by the quarterback,” Beck said.
That young man is Shane Helmick, who measures in at 6-2 and 220 pounds. He has completed 26 of 47 pass attempts, for 361 yards and seven touchdowns. Helmick also leads in rushing with 169 yards, so the Braves will need to collide with him before he gets rolling down the road.
“He has some nice weapons around him so we will need to be ready in coverage,” Beck said. “They do like to run the ball when they can.”
On defense, “they like to fly to the ball and will try some different things to get pressure and mix up our blocking assignments,” Beck said.
“We will need to be locked in all week,” said the Braves’ coach, “because this one goes a long way in the district standings.”
