November 3, 2017 at 5:01 p.m.
Team review: RHS football Hodags optimistic following hot finish
Team review: RHS football Hodags optimistic following hot finish
For the Rhinelander High School football team, those emotions were a mix of elation and relief - a cavalcade of screams and cheers, with a Baker Mayfield-style flag plant thrown in for good measure.
The group of seniors on this year's Hodag squad had never experienced a Great Northern Conference victory. Neither had their fourth-year head coach, Chris Ferge. Following a last-minute goal line stand, the wait was finally over.
"So much hard work just paying off right here and the emotion's just incredible," senior linebacker Colton Krueger said moments after the Hodags knocked off the Oredockers 20-12 and snapped a 23-game conference losing skid. "To finally get the goal we've been seeking for so many years, this is a night we're going to enjoy."
The Hodags followed that with a 49-34 win over Lakeland to end the season with confidence aplenty for the future.
"Our program is growing. Our guys are believing and buying in. It's an exciting time," head coach Chris Ferge said.
Here are five storylines from the Hodags' season, which finished at 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the GNC.
Strong finish
Throughout the season, Ferge insisted his team had not yet played its best football. Following an up-and-down 1-2 start in non-conference play, the Hodags were routed in their first two conference games against Medford and Antigo. The stats began to even out in the next two games against Mosinee and Merrill, but the end results were still the same. Finally, in the last two games, the Hodags played their best football.
The defense carried the Hodags against Ashland thanks to the late stop and a couple of key turnovers. A week later the offense starred in a shootout win over Lakeland in which the Hodags amassed 519 yards of offense.
"Our kids finished, which means everything," Ferge said last month during the team's banquet. "That's how you do it. It meant the world to our staff that our kids were playing their best football at the end of the year."
Martin's emergence
The Hodags were a pass-happy bunch during Ferge's first three years at the helm. That changed in 2017.
Rhinelander averaged 150.2 yards per game on the ground and 3.9 yards per carry this season - up from 88.4 per game and 3.1 per carry in 2016. The Hodags also had a roughly 2-to-1 run-pass ratio following a nearly 50-50 split the season before.
Part of the shift in philosophy could be attributed to a change in play callers, with Ferge putting his focus on the defense and handing the duties to offensive coordinator Aaron Kraemer.
A bigger reason, however, was likely an offensive line that started five seniors and the emergence of tailback Drake Martin. The sophomore rushed for 190 yards or more on three separate occasions during the season and his 1,122 yards on the ground were the most by a Hodag back since Austin Murphy in 2008.
"It makes it very, very simple for me - call the run play and let the kid run," Kraemer said of what Martin brings to the offense.
Senior surge
The Hodags had a whopping number of seniors on their roster - 17 overall - who accounted for 19 of the 22 starting positions on the team, and six of their seven all-conference recipients.
Alec Kurtz and Krueger were two-way all-conference players. Wide receiver Brad Comer, safety Reuben Guzik, linebacker Kenny Baumgardner and offensive lineman Jared Fabich were also recognized by the coaches.
Senior quarterback Logan Freund passed for 938 yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this year. He also rushed for 191 yards and four scores.
Other key senior contributors included defensive back Tyler Olson, linebacker Alex Monk, tight end/linebacker Cole Spaulding, lineman/linebacker Matthias Schneider and lineman Scott Fox.
"They all know what they mean to me and our coaching staff," Ferge said. "At the end of the day, I hope they all know that."
Still Bell-less
While there were plenty of highlights to end the season, Antigo's domination of Rhinelander continued in 2017.
The Red Robins won their 11th straight Bell Game over the Hodags in one of the more lopsided routs in the game's 83-year history.
Antigo won 48-7 after amassing a large 42-0 halftime lead with a running game that kept the Hodags guessing.
"It was a long night," Ferge said afterward. "We blew our assignments and we missed our assignments. It wasn't just one person. It was different people and we paid the price for it."
What's next
The Hodags will have to build on the end-of-season success with a virtually brand new cast of characters in 2018. Martin, cornerback Josh Francisco and linebacker Nathan Kempf are the only starters slated to return.
A number of other underclassmen contributed in reserve roles including receivers Brock Lieder and Sam Tjugum, running backs Peyton Erikson and Seth Stafford and lineman Trevor Knapp, among others.
The quarterback position will likely be filled by Lieder, Freund's backup the last two seasons, or Kempf, who was the starter on JV this season.
The Hodags will be much younger in 2018. They only had seven juniors on the roster at season's end. The Hodags hope that strong numbers in this year's sophomore and freshman classes help offset the loss of this year's large group of seniors.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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