Montezuma surges past East Union in 8P first-round

MONTEZUMA — In a game of momentum swings, Montezuma brought the last punch in a 46-28 8-player first-round playoff win over East Union Friday night.

Plays were made by both sides to keep the game close through three quarters, but Montezuma made more of them down the stretch, especially on defense.

“We had some tough plays and stretches, but we had the ability to bounce back, work together and make plays as a team,” Brady Boulton said of the win.

Trailing 24-28 in the third quarter after a five-yard rushing touchdown from Caden Clear, Montezuma needed a stop defensively.

East Union was doing its best to impose its will in the ground game and milk some clock.

Then came a third-and-5, and for the first time all night, the Braves were finally able to bring the elusive quarterback Braxdyn Tucker down in the backfield for a sack.

Dane Strong was responsible for the sack, and the play flipped the momentum back into Montezuma’s favor. Strong finished the game with three tackles for loss.

“After that sack you could clearly see an energy difference,” Strong said. “We went down and scored after the punt and the vibes were up.”

That score came from the legs of Boulton, who took a scramble up the middle, followed some blocks downfield and scored for a 52-yard rushing TD. The score gave the Braves the lead back, and they would not let go of it this time.

“Their (defensive) ends had a great pass rush and were getting through all night and blitzing,” Boulton said.

“The ability for our (offensive) line to take them out of the play and leave me one-on-one with some key blocks down the field was key as I reached the end zone.”

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After forcing another punt, it seemed like the Braves were about to score and put this one way for good after a 54-yard catch-and-run from Luke Brennan.

A touchdown was negated by a penalty, and the Braves turned it over on downs. It was another opportunity for East Union to take the lead.

That didn’t last long.

On the very next play, Broox Stockman jumped a pass on the outside for an interception, returned all the way inside the five.

‘The way we play our defense, it just kind of allows me to read it like that,“ Stockman said. ”They got me once earlier in the game, but I told myself I could jump on that pass next time, so I went for it.“

Stockman finished it off with a one-yard rushing score, his third score of the night, to give the Braves a 40-28 lead.

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After another defensive stand, Boulton added a rushing TD from seven yards out to put the game at its final score.

The first half also had momentum swings.

East Union had an interception on Montezuma’s opening drive which was waved off after a penalty. The team had a sack negated as well.

The Braves finished the drive with a score.

After scoring and successfully converting three two-point tries Montezuma led 24-12.

The Eagles then scored on a QB sneak from Tucker and got another stop defensively, giving them a chance to take the lead right before half.

The Braves’ defense bent but did not break, forcing two red zone turnovers after the Eagles successfully drove the ball down the field.

The first came on a Boulton interception in the end zone, and the second on a forced fumble inside the 10.

Tucker’s ability to extend plays kept the Eagles in the game through three quarters, but three turnovers and the Braves’ intense defense in the second half limited his -play making.

“I talked to some of the guys, and we just had to do a better job of breaking down and getting our hips into bringing him down and making sure we hold on so others could finish the tackle,” Stockman said.

Boulton threw for 148 yards and rushed for another 98. Stockman totaled 81 physical yards on the ground.

Montezuma 46, East Union 28

Montezuma Team Stats

Rushes-yards: 38-208

Passing yards: 148

Comp-pass-int: 7-16-0

Fumbles-lost: 0-0

Punts-avg.: 3-42.0

Scoring

East Union......6 14 8 0—28

Montezuma … 16 8 8 14—46

MONTE — Stockman 2 run (Stockman pass from Boulton)

EU— Wyatt Kelley 8 pass from Tucker (conversion failed)

MONTE — Strong 25 pass from Boulton (Rett Pargeon pass from Boulton)

EU— McNeill 7 pass from Tucker (conversion failed)

MONTE — Stockman 3 run (Pargeon pass from Boulton)

EU— Tucker 1 run (Kelley run)

EU— Clear 5 run (Clear pass from Tucker)

MONTE — Boulton 52 run (Pargeon pass from Boulton)

MONTE — Stockman 1 run (Boulton run)

MONTE — Boulton 7 run (conversion failed)

Individual Statistics

Rushing — Montezuma: Boulton 15-98, Stockman 20-81, Strong 3-29

Passing — Montezuma: Boulton 7-16-1-148

Receiving — Montezuma: Brennan 3-88, Strong 2-39, Pargeon 1-12, Stockman 1-9

Defense (leading tackler)— Montezuma: Strong 10

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