CLASS B: Axmann, Waverly End Long Title Drought
By Chris Basnett – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Nathan Axmann’s first carry in the Class B state football championship ended with the ball on the turf and Gretna East scoring a touchdown the other way.
His next 40 cemented his place in Waverly history and led the Vikings to a long-awaited state title.
Behind one of the great individual rushing performances in Class B championship history — 41 carries, 277 yards, three touchdowns — Axmann and Waverly powered past Gretna East 42-27 to win the program’s first state title since 1980.
With what looked like the entire town of Waverly watching, clad in black just like the team they were cheering on — Monday night’s attendance of 6,314 was 2,300 more than last year’s Class B final — the Vikings shook off years of semifinal disappointments and near misses over the last decade to cap a 13-0 season.
“It’s bigger than just this group. I’ve been here now seven years, and I’ve had so many great groups go through who have poured so much into this and laid the foundation and taught these guys how to act like champions,” Waverly coach Reed Manstedt said. “For them to go and do it says a lot about them.
“They just consistently answer the call. But this is much bigger than just this team. It’s teams past, it’s our community, it’s our school, it’s our coaches. I could not be more happy.”
Waverly was happy to keep giving the ball to Axmann.
Inside, outside, on a 38-yard screen pass that saw the 6-foot, 190-pound senior break multiple tackles. Nine times on a 12-play, 80-yard fourth quarter march that chewed up more than six minutes and turned Waverly’s one-score advantage into a 35-21 lead on Axmann’s 3-yard scoring run with 3:42 left.
And one last time, after Axmann recovered a Gretna East onside kick, when the Griffins’ defense seemed to serendipitously part and leave Axmann with a 53-yard expanse of green field turf to the end zone.
Axmann considered going down so Waverly could run out the clock. He decided to deliver a knockout punch instead.
“We’ve been in the semifinals all these times, and we just couldn’t break through,” Axmann said. “But to do it for (coach) Manstedt, my senior year, it just means so much to me because of all the heartbreaks we’ve had the past couple years.”
It looked for a while like Waverly might roll to gold. After the early turnover and Gretna East touchdown, the Vikings scored 28 consecutive points and at one juncture held a 188-39 advantage in total offense.
But Chase Grow fired four touchdown passes for Gretna East (11-2), including consecutive 28-yard strikes to Caden Annis over the second and third quarters, to cut a 28-7 Waverly lead to 28-21 late in the third period.
Grow threw for 225 yards. Air Force running back commit Connor Sams, Class B’s leading rusher, ran for 111 yards on just 11 carries. Annis finished with four catches for 113 yards and the two scores, with Carver Fritchen and Seth Kraegel also catching touchdowns.
But Gavin McMillan had two touchdowns of his own for Waverly, catching a 19-yard pass from Brockston Teply for Waverly’s first score, and putting the Vikings ahead for good with a 15-yard run early in the second period.
Teply added a 43-yard scoring strike to Connor Schere, and finished 8-for-11 for 138 yards to provide just enough balance to Axmann.
“(Our guys) have been answering the call all year. That’s been what has made us good,” Manstedt said. “This year has been a good balance, with a good defense, and a good offense, and really good special teams.”
Waverly won four one-score games on the way to finishing 13-0, adding an extra touch of sweetness to Monday’s celebration.
“I’m just so thankful, so happy,” Manstedt said. “It’s been a journey. It’s been a long time coming.”
Appropriately, Axmann was the last player to leave the field Monday night. His last carry was to the locker room with the state championship trophy.
He didn’t drop that one either.
Chris Basnett is a freelance writer based in Lincoln. He has covered prep and college sports for more than 20 years and most recently was the assistant sports editor at the Lincoln Journal-Star. He currently provides content for the Harvest Sports Newsletter.