A Band of Brothers

Sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction. The 2006 varsity football team at Montezuma High School in Montezuma, Iowa, started its season with three straight losses. That opening act gave no hint of what was to come. Coach Joe Donovan, his staff, and the players reinvented themselves, reeled off nine consecutive victories, and put themselves into the Iowa Class 1A state championship game. Their efforts galvanized a community, reunited alumni behind a common cause, electrified the student population in the school system and left a legacy for future athletes and teams wearing Montezuma blue and white. The 2006 Braves became “A Band of Brothers.” This is their story, told as it happened by sports writer Keith Brake.