Montezuma Braves wrap up season with quarterfinal finish

        Montezuma students show their support for the Braves in 8 Man Playoff Quarterfinal action against the Lenox Tigers on Thursday, Nov. 7. The Braves lost the game, 62-20, to wrap up their 2024 season with a 10-2 record and one of the top eight teams in 8 Man in the state of Iowa. This was the last game for eight seniors.

By J.O. Parker
 
          It was a football season that will be talked about in Montezuma for years to come.
         The Braves wrapped up the 2024 campaign with a 10-2 overall record and a quarterfinal playoff finish for the second time in three years.
         “What a season, the guys just continued to get better as the year went on but what I am most proud of is their resiliency,” said Braves Head Coach John Beck. “There are a lot of moments in a drive, game, or season where things might not go the way you want it to go, but our guys found a way. This is a credit to the leadership our seniors and captains provided throughout the year.”
        The team’s only bump was an early season loss on the last play of the game to a solid Southeast Warren team.
      “Instead of being down, our leaders focused on the good and what we can do to get better,” said Coach Beck of the Southeast Warren game. “That mindset propelled the season forward. That loss, though painful, was a reset moment for all of them. We knew how good we could be, but we also knew that we needed to grow from that moment on.”
       Brett Plants, a senior on this year’s team, said he was pretty proud of what this team accomplished and what the Braves have done the last four years of his high school career. He recalled as a youngster watching the football team walk through the hallways on Fridays wearing their Montezuma jerseys.
        “That was always so cool to me,” said Plants.
       In junior high, Plants walked the sidelines as a water boy, which just fueled his love of the game. He went on to play all four years of his high school career for the Braves.
       “I’m pretty proud of that accomplishment,” he said. “It was honor to be able to play all four years for the Braves.”
       “We really had a good group of kids from freshman year and up,” added Breck Simpson, a senior on this year’s squad. “We exceed our expectations. The coaching staff did a great job helping us get ready each and every week. I truly had a great time playing with all my best friends and brothers.”
       “It was a great group of athletes and I couldn’t be more proud of what this team accomplished this year,” said Montezuma Senior Houston Van Roekel. “We had a pretty good four year stretch of success.”
      “I’ve went to school with all the seniors on the team since preschool and it was a joy to lineup with them on the football field each week and represent the Braves,” said senior Briar Simpson.
      After finishing the regular season, 8-1, the Braves headed into the playoffs where they beat Winfield-Mt. Union, 61-54, and the Bedford Bulldogs, 32-18, one week later on a fourth quarter touchdown with 10-seconds in the game.
      The Braves then traveled to Lenox to take on a tough Tigers team. They hung in there, but in the end, the Tigers won the game, 62-20.
     Braves quarterback Brady Boulton finished the game with 12 rushes for 87 yards and one touchdown. Broox Stockman gained 132 yards in the game and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Senior David Rose finished the night with eight receptions and 82 yards and seven tackles in the game.
      “We knew that they were a good team and knew that we were going to have to play well,” said Coach Beck.    “After they scored early on I was very proud of how we responded by going down the field and scoring. We matched their physicality for most of the game, just had moments where we let things snowball in the second quarter. Against teams of Lenox's caliber, the little mistakes add up and that is what happened. However, our guys never gave up. The guys could have cashed it in multiple times but we kept fighting. In the second half, we were able to take the ball and go down the field multiple times. Defensively, we had some stops, big stops, in the second quarter with an interception and a stop before the half. Overall, I am just very proud of our guys and how they played all year long.”
      At the close of the game and trophy presentation, Coach Beck thanked the team and the seniors for all they did this year and throughout their careers.
The seniors final stats:
       34-11 overall record
       Three district titles
     Four playoff appearances including two quarterfinal appearances (against WACO in 2022 and Lenox in 2024) and five playoff wins
       21-2 record in district play
       The seniors include: Carter Michalek, David Rose, Kohen Holland, Brett Plants, Breck Simpson, Lars Taylor, Houston Van Roekel and Briar Simpson.