HANOVER – Hanover’s football field has become the place where the state’s longest eight-man winning streaks meet their demise.
 
Which wasn’t a great thing for the host Wildcats in 2019 when visiting Axtell, sparked by freshman quarterback Isaac Detweiler coming off the bench in relief of injured starter Quinn Buessing, stunned Hanover with a 28-26 upset that ended the Wildcats’ state-record win streak at 43 consecutive games.
 
While the Wildcats got some measure of revenge the following year, blowing out the Eagles twice en route to their undefeated 2020 state title – the fourth in five years for the program – true payback had eluded Hanover as Axtell embarked on its run of four straight undefeated seasons in 2021, along the way breaking Hanover’s win streak record.
 
Until Friday.
 
With Axtell bringing its record 58-game winning streak to town, Hanover finally turned the tables on its Twin Valley League rival. The No. 3-ranked Wildcats muscled their way to a 26-6 lead early in the fourth quarter and then withstood a furious rally in the final seven minutes by the top-ranked Eagles, holding on for a 26-18 victory.
 
“I can’t say that it hasn’t been talked about,” Hanover coach Matt Heuer said of Axtell’s streak-ending win in 2019 and ensuing streak of its own. “But we were looking at this game as a measuring stick of where we were as a football team. Win or loss, we knew that it didn’t make or break our season because there’s a more important game coming up where we might face them again.
 
“But at the same time, I think this is huge for us psychologically more than anything. Just understanding that they don’t have that aura of that 58-game winning streak with them anymore. Getting over that hurdle tonight was extremely big for us as a football team moving forward.”
 

 
Even though Axtell had largely dominated the past four meetings with the Wildcats, winning three of those with 45-point mercy-rule endings, expectations were much different for this year’s matchup as both teams entered Friday’s contest 6-0. And the argument could be made that Hanover had been more impressive in getting to that point this season, opening the season with a convincing win over Division I-ranked Ell-Saline.
 
And it didn’t take long for Hanover to prove that it was going to be up for the challenge. The Wildcat defense forced a three-and-out on Axtell’s opening possession of the game and then the offense responded with a methodical scoring drive.
 
The final play of the drive somewhat epitomized Hanover’s night on the offensive end. Facing a fourth-and-goal at the 1, Kadrick Cohorst initially was stuffed short of the goal line by Axtell’s defense. But instead of going down, he absorbed the contact and powered through it, bouncing to the outside to find the end zone and give Hanover a 6-0 lead.
 
That set the tone as Hanover’s line consistently cleared holes for the Wildcat backs, who rewarded them by not only breaking off solid gains, but breaking numerous tackles that turned three- or four-yard gains into much bigger ones.
 
“That’s one thing we wanted to do, we wanted to be able to run the ball,” Heuer said. “And I thought our kids did a good job of setting the tone by winning the battle up front. That allowed us to run between the tackles pretty well and that was key.
 
“Our kids did a really good job of understanding that three, four, five-yard gains were going to add up to getting us first downs and staying in front of the chains was really important and those guys ran incredibly hard and kept that mentality through the course of that game.”
 

 
Punched in the mouth right away, Axtell responded as one would expect from a team riding the streak the Eagles were on. They marched right back down the field and after converting on a fourth down near midfield, tied the game early in the second quarter on Wyatt Detweiler’s 2-yard run.
 
Hanover needed less than two minutes to grab the lead right back as Cohorst burst up the middle for a 16-yard score that gave the Wildcats a 12-6 halftime lead.
 
A scoreless third quarter saw Hanover unable to capitalize on an Axtell fumble that Tanner Bruna pounced on at the Eagle 34. The Wildcats drove inside the Eagle 15, but Joe Lybarger picked off a Cohorst pass in the end zone.
 
He tried to bring it out and slipped down at the 1. Axtell was able to gain some breathing room, but two plays into the fourth quarter, the Eagles lost another fumble that Cohorst fell on at the Axtell 15. Two plays later, he scored on a 13-yard run for his third rushing touchdown of the game.
 
“That drive, I came off throwing that interception, so I was kind of upset,” Cohorst said. “I just came out and I just wanted to make up for it.”
 
When Cohorst added his fourth rushing touchdown of the night on a 7-yard run a possession later, Hanover’s victory seemed all but locked up with the Wildcats up 20 with 6:44 left in the game.
 
But that changed. And in a hurry.
 
Detweiler snagged the ensuing kickoff at his own 2-yard line and weaved his way 78 yards for a touchdown. That spark turned into a roaring flame when Axtell’s onside kick was momentarily corralled by Brody Sedlacek, who then took a massive hit that jarred the ball loose and Axtell fell on it.
 
The Eagles made it payoff with Lybarger finding the pylon on a 1-yard scoring run that all of a sudden had Axtell within eight with 3:29 left in the game.
 
“I was proud of the way our kids fought back,” Axtell coach Eric Detweiler said. “I kept telling them if we could get two or three stops, one big play. And then we got it with the kick return and then we got momentum and in eight-man football momentum is huge. We instantly scored and then it just rolled from there.”
 

 
Axtell elected to kick deep following Lybarger’s score and after Hanover got one first down, the Eagles held and forced the Wildcats to put with a minute left. But a first-down sack forced Detweiler to spike the ball on second down to stop the clock and passes on third and fourth down were knocked away by Hanover defenders to seal the streak-ending victory.
 
“What a football game, what a football game,” said Heuer, who celebrated his 44th birthday on Friday. “Kudos and hats off to (Axtell). They fought to the very end.
 
“I think this was the last step to get our kids to understand that we’re back there and at that elite status. Going forward, we’re in no way shape or form where we want to be as a football team and we must continue to improve and understand there’s going to be a lot of contests just like this going forward that we have to make sure we’re ready for.”
 
As for the end of the streak, Detweiler said it was something the Eagles can be proud of and now must move on from.
 
“It’s one loss in four and a half years, and I think 100% of teams will take that,” he said. “It’s not a defining moment in our season. The best thing about it is when you play good teams you get to learn what your mistakes are and where you need to get better. This is good for us and we’ll be back.”
 

 
HANOVER 26, AXTELL 18
 
Axtell (6-1) … 0 … 6 … 0 … 12 … -- … 18
 
Hanover (7-0) … 6 … 6 … 0 … 14 … -- … 26
 
Hanover – Kadrick Cohorst 1-yard run (pass failed)
 
Axtell – Wyatt Detweiler 2-yard run (run failed)
 
Hanover – Cohorst 16-yard run (run failed)
 
Hanover – Cohorst 13-yard run (run failed)
 
Hanover – Cohorst 7-yard run (Lanxden Stallbaumer pass from Cohorst)
 
Axtell – Detweiler 78-yard kickoff return (pass failed)
 
Axtell – Joe Lybarger 1-yard run (pass failed)