Football Game Preview: Hanover Central Wildcats vs. Lowell Red Devils

The Hanover Central Wildcats will venture away from home to face off against the Lowell Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hanover Central will be strutting in after a victory while Lowell will be coming in after a loss.

Hanover Central took a loss when they played away from home last Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Hammond Central 42-0. That 42 point margin sets a new team best for the Wildcats this season.

Isaiah Buikema

Rushing Touchdowns

10/17/25 vs Hammond Central	2
09/26/25 @ Munster	2
09/05/25 @ Highland	2
10/03/25 vs Hobart	1

This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Ben Baswell and Isaiah Buikema. Baswell rushed for 121 yards and a pair of TDs on only 11 carries while Buikema rushed for 80 yards and two scores. Buikema is becoming a predictor of Hanover Central's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-5 when he doesn't).

Meanwhile, after a string of seven wins, Lowell's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They took a 19-3 bruising from Andrean. Having soared to a lofty 49 points in the game before, the Red Devils couldn't push the score so high this time.

Even if they lost, Lowell's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Lincoln Schneider, Jeron Cannon, and Michael Shelton, who each picked up one sack apiece. Lowell got some further help from Schneider: he picked up a sack and made 17 total tackles (2.0 for loss).

Lowell's defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 5-1 and their overall record down to 7-2. As for Hanover Central, their win bumped their record up to 4-5.

Things could have been worse for Hanover Central, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 35-20 loss to Lowell in their previous meeting back in September. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Red Devils' Brody Kalwinski, who rushed for 79 yards and one touchdown on only nine carries, and also caught one TD. Now that the Wildcats know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.