Beavers Make History

The Beaver football team had two goals for the 2024 season: get revenge on Iowa City Regina and get to the UNI-Dome. The Beavers' knew both goals were attainable, but only with teamwork, dedication, and perseverance.

The Regina Regals beat the Beavers twice in the 2023 season with the second loss ending their season. Regina had also already beaten the Beavers in their regular season matchup this 2024 season.

First thing, make it through the First and Second rounds of post-season play. The Beavers did just that, beating Aplington-Parkersburg 38-14 and MFL MarMac 40-14. With these two wins the Beavers made the quarterfinals of post-season play for the second time in Wilton football history.

In the quarterfinals, the Beavers were again matched up with the Regina Regals. The Regals had defeated the Beavers three weeks earlier 20-8 to end the regular season. The Beavers wanted revenge and they knew that beating the Regals was a hard task for any team, especially when playing them on their own field. Regina had not lost a home game since 2017, and Wilton had not beaten Regina since 1988. Both streaks ended when the Beavers won 21-14. 

Late in the game, it looked like the Regals' home-winning streak was going to live on when the Beavers failed to score on a two-point conversion to take the lead.  With only two minutes left in the game, the Beavers decided to kick an onside kick. Wilton’s Owen Hassell recovered the onside kick giving the Beavers one last shot at taking the lead.  The Beavers drove down the field and scored with 29 seconds left in the game and went for a 2-point conversion to go up by seven points. On the last play of the game, the Regals threw a hail mary hoping for the best, but Jordan Dusenberry intercepted the ball ending the game. Senior Drew Keith said, “It really was a dream come true.” 

With Wilton’s first win over Regina in decades, the Beavers earned a trip to the Semi-Finals at the UNI-Dome. This was the first time in Wilton Football history the Beavers made it to the Dome.

Unfortunately, the Beavers were matched with a tough Grundy Center team. Grundy Center was the state champion the two previous years and also had a 37-game win streak. The Beavers gave it their all, but in the end came up short losing 42-7.

The 2024 Beavers football team would end their season making history in many ways: defeating Regina for the first time since 1988, making the quarterfinals for the second time ever, and making it to the UNI-Dome for the first time in school history.