The Frankfort Wildcats took care of business last week with a 38-12 victory at Hanover. Granted, it wasn’t nearly as stress-free as their Week 8 62-14 romping.

Hanover got the first touchdown of the game which was followed by three unanswered Frankfort touchdowns to go up 20-6. Hanover was able to score before the half to cut the deficit to 20-12 at halftime. Frankfort’s defense ramped up in the second half and pitched a shutout with the offense adding on some scores to pull away from Hanover to get to the sub-state round for the first time since 2020.

Frankfort got the win despite just 56 yards rushing on 26 carries (2.2 yards per carry), and just 145 passing yards for only 199 total yards. They were outgained by Hanover 242-199, but that just goes to show how much improvement Frankfort’s defense has made this year. Wes Anderson was 11-for-15 with two touchdowns along with those 145 yards. The sophomore quarterback also added a touchdown with his legs on a team-high 11 carries.

Brock Armstrong had seven carries for 22 yards and two rushing touchdowns, and Lane Loiseau had four receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Carter Olson kept up his amazing season as well with another receiving touchdown on a day with three receptions and 42 yards. He also had a massive interception in the sectional round win as well.

On the season, Anderson has a 65% completion rate, 2,107 yards, 33 touchdowns and just three interceptions. On the ground, he has added 137 yards and four touchdowns. Lane Loiseau leads the team on the ground with 496 rushing yards on 8.6 yards per carry with 12 touchdowns. He is also very effective over the air with 682 yards and 11 touchdowns with a team-high 47 receptions. Carter Olson leads the team in receiving with 768 yards and 16 touchdowns on 40 receptions. Brock Armstrong has 347 yards and a team-leading 13 touchdowns, and he also has 371 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

As for Axtell, they once again walloped their opponent with this past week’s unfortunate victim being the then-fifth-ranked Osborne Bulldogs.

The Eagles mercy-ruled them by a final score of 54-6 at halftime to get their 37th consecutive win in a row. Axtell scored the first four touchdowns in this game to quickly go up 24-0, but Osborne scored their lone touchdown before the first 12 minutes of the game concluded to slightly reduce their deficit. The Eagles were able to score a whopping 30 points in the second quarter to put Osborne away at the break.

It was Axtell’s defense that really flashed in this one allowing just three first downs, 23% 3rd down efficiency allowed and 0-for-4 on fourth down conversions allowed. The Eagles also allowed just 81 yards of offense and 2.1 yards per carry on 29 attempts.

Brandon Schmelzle was 5-for-6 in this game with 96 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also had eight carries for 77 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Eli Broxterman had two touchdown receptions on just three catches for 45 yards. He also had 82 yards and a touchdown with just two carries. The other touchdown catch went to Landon Schmitz on a 29-yard connection, which was his lone catch of the evening.

Brandon Schmelzle now has 1,347 passing yards and an absured 82% completion percentage which is 12 points better than his predecessor and 2-time reigning Offensive Player of the Year Isaac Detweiler. His touchdown totals don’t quite compare to his, but are still elite numbers. Schmelzle has 29 passing touchdowns and an even more impressive zero interceptions. On the ground, he has 588 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. He is on track to bring the Offensive Player of the Year trophy back to Axtell for the third consecutive season.

Eli Broxterman is tied for the team lead in rushing touchdowns with 12. He also has 472 yards on 29 carries for an other-worldly 16.3 yards per carry, which has to be some kind of record if that holds. Over the air, he leads the team in receptions with 26, receiving yards with 459 and touchdowns with ten. Grady Buessing has been the team’s most trusted true wide receiver with 22 receptions, 446 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. They also love what Landon Schmitz can bring to the table with 14 total touchdowns (eight receiving and six rushing), and 531 scrimmage yards.

In the meeting between these two teams in the regular season in Week 7, Axtell won 46-0. Inconsequentially, this was Axtell’s lowest scoring total of the season. However, it still was a halftime mercy rule. In that game, Wes Anderson went 9-for-21 with 61 yards and two interceptions. He also had four carries for negative nine rushing yards. In total, Frankfort had just one rushing yard with Lane Loiseau having five carries for ten yards. As for Axtell, Brandon Schmelzle went 13-for-15 with 166 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 126 rushing yards on 19 attempts with a rushing touchdown. Eli Broxterman had a sensational game with five receptions for 74 yards and three touchdowns with a rushing touchdown as well. Axtell has won 9 of the last 12 meetings dating back to 2012. The Eagles have also won the last three games with Frankfort’s most recent win in the series coming in 2020.