Last Friday, Axtell defeated Twin Valley League rival Hanover, 26-12, in an Eight-Man, Division II semifinal contest. In Week 6, Axtell, despite multiple injuries, bested Hanover, 28-26, in district play and ended the Wildcats' 43-game winning streak, the longest run in KSHSAA eight-man football history.
Axtell, which had lost to Hanover in the regular season and state semifinals in '18, moved into the title game for the third occasion in school annals. Axtell has a championship in '93 and runner-up in '85.
Before this fall, Axtell was 1-14 in its last 15 meetings versus Hanover and hadn't beaten the Wildcats since '05.
“Getting better every year of thinking we could play with anybody,” seventh-year Axtell coach Eric Detweiler said. “And in my first few years here, we didn't believe as a team, and that's something that I wanted to fix.”
After one of the biggest wins in school history, Axtell traveled the 158 miles southwest to Osborne and watched the Bulldogs face Hutchinson Central Christian in its Eight-Man, Division II semifinal contest on Saturday.
Axtell, like the rest of the state, believed Osborne senior running back/linebacker Darrien Holloway was out for the season with a foot injury. Holloway had even posted a message on Twitter announcing his injury after a Round of 16 win versus Sylvan-Lucas.
However, Holloway returned with another excellent performance in a 52-26 victory.
“We've heard that he was done for the year,” Detweiler said.
Holloway rushed 29 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns, all coming in the second quarter. He also led the Bulldogs with 12 tackles. Detweiler noticed Holloway's speed, and believed the senior, known for his offensive skills, is “probably even better” at linebacker.
“It was kind of a surprise for us to see him play, that's for sure,” Detweiler said.
Holloway's return after a short absence has been one of the top stories of the 2019 playoffs – and among the many links between Osborne (12-0) and Axtell (11-1).
“What a deal,” Osborne coach Steve Tiernan said.
On Saturday, the teams will meet up at Newton's Fischer Field in a 3:00 p.m. start.
Last year, the Bulldogs fell to Hanover in the Division II state title game. The two coaches spoke after the Central Christian contest.
“I have never coached against him, but I do know him,” Tiernan said of Detweiler. “Good guy.”
Additionally, first-year Axtell assistant coach Mitchell Engelken played for Tiernan at Baileyville B&B and was an assistant at Solomon last fall for Tiernan. Engelken joined the staff with Detweiler and longtime defensive coordinator Dale Buessing.
“Great addition to our coaching staff,” Detweiler said. “He always contributes. He has great, different ideas, where Dale and I have been together so long, it's kind of nice to get an outside perspective of things sometimes. And he does a great job of that, of just bouncing new ideas off of us, and we use that, and back and forth, and come up with ideas off of him, off of our ideas as well.”
Osborne won the state championship in '13 with Tiernan and '16 with coach Cullen Riner. Tiernan then led Solomon to a Division I state runner-up in '18 before he came back to Osborne this fall. Tiernan captured two earlier crowns at Baileyville B&B in '08 and '10.
“They are extremely well-disciplined,” coach Detweiler said. “He knows what he wants to do, and he gets a team to do it extremely, extremely well. … Experience goes a long way. He has been there, done that before. He can tell a team what's going to happen, where he's probably got an advantage over me there, with us being there for a first time.”
Holloway and Axtell quarterback Quinn Buessing are two of the state's seminal players and are arguably the two most accomplished eight-man players in the '19 class.
Buessing is a four-year starter, and like Holloway, missed a short time with injury this fall before returning. A four-sport all-state player, Buessing accounted for 344 yards of total offense and four scores in the semifinal win versus Hanover.
“One thing that makes us a better team is that we have the capability of passing with Quinn,” coach Detweiler, a '98 Axtell graduate, said.
Overall, he has completed 152 of 225 passes for 2,263 yards with a 39/2 TD/INT ratio. He has rushed 102 times for 548 yards and 19 scores. Buessing has thrown for 132 career touchdowns with 7,813 passing yards and 567 completions. He is 11 TDs away from the eight-man state record.
“He just sees the field so extremely well,” Detweiler said. “And it just helps him put the ball in the right place.”
Buessing's dad, Roy, played with Tiernan, a Tipton graduate, on the third eight-man all-star game in 1988. Baileyville and Axtell are six miles apart. When Tiernan lived in B&B, he knew the Buessings through coaching peewee baseball, too.
“A lot of familiarities,” Tiernan said.
Holloway will play in his third career state title game. In his career, he has 509 carries for 4,205 yards and 87 rushing touchdowns. That includes 1,165 rushing yards and 22 scores this fall. He has 188 career tackles and is a four-time state hurdle titlist.
When Holloway first injured his foot early in the Sylvan game, he tried to return with it taped up. However, Holloway could still barely run. The diagnosis was four to six weeks. Tiernan believed he was done.
“Pretty tough kid,” Tiernan said. “And he loves to play football, and he wanted to play football.”
However, he worked after practice for eight to 10 days for 30 minutes to an hour with Dr. Aaron Geist, an Osborne assistant coach, Bulldog alum and physical therapist.
Holloway was cleared Nov. 19, four days before the semifinal contest.
“Did some stuff, just kind of experimental stuff,” Tiernan said. “Said he'd never done it before.”
Helped by a strong supporting cast – including at least one key player that was not on the varsity in '18 - both squads have significantly improved their defense. Last year, Osborne permitted 20.6 points per game, Axtell 20.5. This fall, Osborne is 12.3 and Axtell 10.8.
Osborne senior Evan Garman, who did not play football in '18, has paced the Bulldogs with 130 tackles.
Senior Steele Wolters, a guard last year, moved to quarterback and has delivered an exceptional year with 553 passing, 799 rushing and 29 scores accounted for. The starting safety, Wolters has 123 tackles and four interceptions.
They've helped Osborne exceed expectations. Tiernan has heard from many people who thought Osborne was not going to make state. Tiernan told his team the projected records “doesn't matter.”
“A lot of people thought 7-3, 8-2 would be a heckuva year,” Tiernan said.
Osborne has rushed for 258 yards a game. Junior Lance Kaser made an early season switch from guard to center, and senior Damien Rothenberger moved from center to guard. Rothenberger, like Garman, did not play football in '18.
Axtell junior nose guard Kolby Talbot has anchored the lines with 85.5 tackles, 19 for loss. Senior Derek Buessing has emerged as the top receiver with 49 catches for 718 yards and 17 scores, along with 63 tackles, 16 for loss. Buessing has played middle linebacker a couple games.
“Big kid, got great hands,” coach Detweiler said. “We've kind of moved him around.”
Senior J.J. Hart has battled through a collarbone injury and played in just three games this fall, including the last two. He caught a 22-yard receiving score last week.
Freshman Isaac Detweiler has served in Hart's place and played quarterback when Quinn Buessing was out. He led the comeback win versus Hanover in the first meeting.
Detweiler has thrown for 321 yards with a 7/0 TD/INT ratio, rushed for 484 yards and seven scores, caught 57 passes for 827 yards and 11 TDs, and recorded 44 tackles with seven interceptions on defense.
“I thought he definitely had the potential,” coach Detweiler said. “I didn't know – coming in as a freshman, I believe is a huge leap from junior high to high school.”
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