2026 NEMFCA 8-Man Hall of Fame Inductee Salutes - Justin Swedburg, Axtell High School

This is our fifth of fifteen 2026 Nebraska Eight Man Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductees. We proudly salute one of 8-Man football’s most intimidating players ever, Justin Swedburg of Axtell.

JUSTIN SWEDBURG – AXTELL HIGH SCHOOL

In the mid-2000’s, Justin was a standout running back and linebacker while leading the Wildcats to 4 consecutive playoff appearances and a trip to the 2005 Class D1 State Finals (where they finished as the state runner-up.) He dominated both sides of the ball for Axtell- totaling over 3,000 rushing yards, scoring 60 touchdowns, and tallying a school record 430 tackles. In the course of his prep career, Justin received multiple accolades including being named 1st Team All-District four times, 1st Team All-State two times, and he was selected as the Kearney Hub’s Defensive Player of the year in 2007. Then in the summer of 2008, he was honored as the Most Valuable Defensive Player for both the 8-Man All-Star and the Nebraska vs. Kansas All-Star games. Justin then moved on to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where he would become a 4-year starter and team captain while also leading the Lopers to two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Titles and two National Playoff appearances. He was later honored as a member of Huskerland Prep Report’s All-Decade Team for the 2000’s and after college, he returned to his home town of Axtell, where he works as a teacher and coaches both football and wrestling. Justin is most proud of the opportunity to work with great teammates and coaches along the way and positively representing his alma mater throughout the journey. The NEMFCA is honored to now welcome him into the Eight-Man Hall Football of Fame Class of 2026..

************************************************************

*1000 Yard Guy sez…..Complete football player that seemed to have instincts, on defense especially, from the moment he stepped on the field as a freshman starter at Axtell. By the time he hit UNK the four seasons at Axtell had him ready to hit the road running. The performances he put on in the 8-Man All-Star game and the Kansas/Nebraska battle made my head spin. Those “all-stars” from Kansas wanted nothing to do with Swedeburg after his first crunching hit. That game seemed to define his entire career. A relentless head hunter at LB whose lateral movement was crazy good for a high schooler.

Justin struck fear into the hearts of anyone with a football in their hands. One hit was all it took.