Hartland gets lift from former Howell student in football win over Highlanders

Bill Khan, Livingston Daily
·4 min read

HOWELL — Jaxson Wilson bleeds Hartland blue and gold, but there will always be a little Howell Highlander in him.

Hartland's Jaxson Wilson rumbles down the field with a 66-yard catch to set up Hartland's go-ahead touchdown in a 33-13 victory at Howell on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.
Hartland's Jaxson Wilson rumbles down the field with a 66-yard catch to set up Hartland's go-ahead touchdown in a 33-13 victory at Howell on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

The M-59 football rivalry between Hartland and Howell is more personal for Wilson.

He attended Howell schools through sixth grade and his father, Travis, is in the high school’s athletic Hall of Fame for his exploits on the football field.

But whatever feelings linger from his early years in Howell, they are buried for the 48 minutes that he battles in the trenches against some of his former classmates.

“I went to school with all these guys up until seventh grade,” Wilson said. “I love them all. But when you’re on the field, you’re a little bit of enemies.

“I talk to them occasionally, usually leading up to football season. I get in touch with a couple of them. It’s kind of emotional. It’s tough after all these years. I still love them. I’ve got these guys now.”

The Eagles made the short trip to Howell Friday night, looking to avenge a first-round state playoff loss from last season.

Howell's Brandon Hamilton hauls in a 35-yard pass while defended by Matthew Flynn to set up the first touchdown of the game in a 33-13 loss to Hartland on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.
Howell's Brandon Hamilton hauls in a 35-yard pass while defended by Matthew Flynn to set up the first touchdown of the game in a 33-13 loss to Hartland on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

Wilson made two big plays in the third quarter that helped Hartland get revenge with a 33-13 victory that spoiled the Highlanders’ homecoming.

With the game tied 7-7 early in the second half, Wilson caught a short pass from James Butzier and advanced the ball 66 yards to the Howell 4-yard line. That set up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Butzier to Joey Mattord.

Howell’s next possession ended with Wilson running into the end zone on a fumble return which gave Hartland a 20-7 lead with 6:20 left in the third quarter.

“Joey knocked it out and I scooped it up,” said Wilson, who also had a sack late in the game. “I didn’t make it to the end zone last year, but I’m going to on this one, so I hung on to that thing and I got in there.”

That was the first of three impact plays made by the Hartland defense that turned the tide in a game controlled by the defenses.

Hartland defensive back Nevan Anderer intercepted a pass on Howell’s next possession, setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Butzier to Mitch Cavanaugh with 3:16 left in the third quarter. It was the Eagles’ third touchdown in a span of 5 minutes, 9 seconds.

Howell quarterback Justin Jones (35) is congratulated after scoring the first touchdown in a 33-13 loss to Hartland on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.
Howell quarterback Justin Jones (35) is congratulated after scoring the first touchdown in a 33-13 loss to Hartland on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

Mattord put an exclamation point on the victory by returning an interception for a touchdown with 1:03 left in the game.

Hartland's Nevan Anderer (25) runs the ball while defended by Howell's Logan Porter (5) during the Eagles' 33-13 victory on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.
Hartland's Nevan Anderer (25) runs the ball while defended by Howell's Logan Porter (5) during the Eagles' 33-13 victory on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

“The defense played great,” Hartland coach Brian Savage said. “They kept us in the game in the first half. The defense played how they’ve played all year. They’re phenomenal. The kids fly around.”

Livingston County’s leading rusher over the past two seasons, Mattord was kept under wraps by the Highlanders’ smothering defense. He made an impact on the other end of the ball with the forced fumble on Wilson’s touchdown and with his pick-six. Mattord also had a punt downed at the 3-yard line.

“They did a great job today of keeping me contained,” said Mattord, who scored eight touchdowns in his previous three games against Howell. “They were blitzing hard, coming hard at the hole. I couldn’t really think as fast. I flipped the switch and went straight to defense. That’s what great players do; we’ve got to fight through adversity and make great plays on defense.”

Howell jumped out to a 7-0 lead when quarterback Justin Jones scored on a 1-yard run one play after hitting Brandon Hamilton with a 35-yard pass. Hartland answered in similar fashion, with Butzier scoring on a 2-yard sneak the play after he threw a 23-yard pass to Cavanaugh.

After Hartland scored 19 points in the third quarter, Howell cut the deficit to 26-13 on a 2-yard run by Jones with 9:15 left in the game.

The Highlanders’ last two drives ended on interceptions by Jack Gregory and Mattord.

“I’m really proud of their effort, really proud of their toughness,” Howell coach Brian Lewis said. “You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t do those things in big games and expect to win, so we’ve got a lot of things to clean up.”

The Eagles’ third straight victory gives them a 4-2 record heading into a home game against Northville next Friday. Howell, which travels to Novi next Friday, fell to 3-3.

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Hartland's defense generates offense in football win at Howell