MTZ football loses in first round of playoffs
Makobi Adams looks to throw in a 21-18 loss to Breese Central in Breese.
By BLAKE FAITH
Staff Writer
The Mt. Zion football team’s season ended in Breese when the Braves lost 21-18 to Breese Central in the first round of the IHSA 4A Playoffs. Brayden Trimble caught or 117 receiving yards and scored one touchdown for the Braves.
The Braves defense contained the Cougars’ offense to only two scoring drives in the first half. The Braves on their offensive drives for points right before the half when Brayden Traxler nailed a 37-yard Field Goal to narrow the Cougars’ lead to 14-3.
The Cougars’ offense and Braves’ offense both punted on their first possession of the second half. The Braves were the latter and the Cougars’ dropped the punt that Cameron Schroth recovered for the Braves.
The Braves got the ball in the 19-yard line and Makobi Adams fired a 24-yard pass in the air that landed in Grant McAtee’s hands over double coverage. Adams then reconnected with McAtee for the two-point conversion to narrow the Cougars’ lead to 14-11.
The Braves’ defense continued to contain the Cougars’ offense in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Cougars’ quarterback Connor Freeze ran in an 18-yard touchdown and Freeze nailed the extra point for the Cougars to take a 21-11 lead.
The Braves quickly countered when Adams found Trimble. Trimble ran a slant route and made the catch, dodged numerous tackles and ran in a 50-yard touchdown. Traxler nailed the extra point to make the score 21-18.
The Braves’ defense made the Cougars’ offense punt to give the Braves’ a chance to get a score. Adams threw an interception and the Cougars’ ran out the clock to take a 21-18 win.
“We started to slow and it’s hard,” Head coach Patrick Etherton. We were down 14-3 and offensively we didn’t play well in the first half. They lined up and did some stuff we hadn’t seen on film and it took our kids a little while and us coaches a while to adjust. I’m proud of our kids, we battled back, you know, got an opportunity in the fourth quarter, we got the ball to have a chance to win the game and we didn’t execute. And it happens when they’re a good football team. They’re well coached. And they did some good things.”
The Braves finish their season with a 6-4 overall record and a 4-2 Apollo Conference record.
“I’d probably use one word encouraging,” Coach Etherton said.”I think it’s encouraging what we got, I think we got a ton of young kids and played a bunch this year. Just offensively you look at our skill guys that are all back next year. We have two freshman receivers starting who don’t look out of place out there. And so for us it is encouraging and I’m just proud of our kids and proud of our seniors. They came from a freshman class, they were 0-10 in freshman play. And to this point where they were expected to be in the playoffs they expected to win. So, we’ve come a long way.”
The Braves lose seniors Tony Alford, Chiren Petty, Traxler, Aiden Ledbetter, Gabe Vanderlaan, Viktor Behm, Genti Veliu, Joey Harbour, Mason McNeil, Mylin Mosley and Justin Moreau.
“We have a lot of young kids and you want them to feel this, you want them to understand what the end feels like, and especially then when you don’t win,” Coach Etherton said. “So for the younger kids just keep their heads up and know that hey, you know, you got more time to fix some things in the offseason. And they’ve got to learn and they’ve got to understand scenarios. And then for our seniors just thanking them for what they do. And I mean, they’ve done a lot, they’ve come a long way from freshman up to now. It’s not easy doing workouts all summer and not easy to do in practice. I just really want to thank them for everything and tell them I’m proud of them and proud of what they’ve done.”
