September 25, 2017 at 1:26 p.m.
Football: Mosinee blanks Hodags 35-0
Football: Mosinee blanks Hodags 35-0
Justin Stubbe rushed for four touchdowns in the first half as the Indians cruised past the Hodags 35-0 at Veterans Park in a win that makes Mosinee playoff eligible and a loss that pushes Rhinelander's Great Northern Conference losing streak to 22 games.
The stats were not nearly as lopsided as the final score would indicate. The Indians gained only 11 more yards on offense than Rhinelander and the Hodags got a 190-yard rushing effort from sophomore tailback Drake Martin. But Rhinelander was turned away twice on goal-to-goal situations in the second half and quarterback Logan Freund threw three interceptions.
"We did play a little better brand of football but still our whole team is very disappointed," coach Chris Ferge said. "Our staff's disappointed, our kids are disappointed. We needed to make plays in the first half. We were way too easily blocked and played defense the wrong way the first three series. Offensively, we should have been moving the ball like that all game."
The start of the game played out much like a 48-7 loss to Antigo the previous week in the Bell Game for the Hodags. Mosinee marched down the field and scored in its first three drives when the Hodags managed only two first downs in their first three possessions, which ended with a pair of punts and a turnover.
Stubbe scored from six yards out for Mosinee, capping off a six-play drive on the game's opening possession. Another six-play drive which ended in another six-yard plunge by Stubbe had Mosinee ahead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. Stubbe scored again 55 seconds into the second to give the Indians a three-touchdown advantage.
"I saw a lot of over pursuit. We're working on those things," Ferge said in regard to the Hodags' early-game defensive struggles. "We need to come out and it needs to happen in the game. We'll go through and there will be more drills to work on those things but it still comes down to the things we're working on in practice, we need to make sure those things come out on Friday night."
Rhinelander's offense began to find a rhythm late in the second quarter and was marching when a Freund pass slipped through the hands of intended receive Peyton Erickson and was intercepted by Ty Cook. Mosinee took advantage and Stubbe scored from three yards out with 56 seconds left before the break. It marked the third straight game that Rhinelander allowed a touchdown in the final minute of the first half.
Rhinelander had a 17-play drive to start the second half, and made it all the way down to the Mosinee 5 before Martin was stopped on a stretch play on fourth-and goal. Five plays later, Loucas Trczinski broke a couple of tackles on a 68-yard catch-and-run touchdown to send the game into running time with 2:43 to play in the third.
The Hodags drove deep into Mosinee territory again before Freund was intercepted on a desperation toss on fourth-and-11 from the 31 midway through the fourth. Rhinelander got the ball back one more time, drove down to the Mosinee 3, but committed a false start penalty on fourth-and-goal. Freund was then stopped on a one-yard run as the Hodags turned the ball over on what proved to be the final play of the game.
"We need to convert," Ferge said. "It's great that you can move the ball up and down the field, but I'd take that every time as a defense if a team moved the ball up and down the field but never scored. We need to get in the end zone."
The Hodags rushed for a season-high 244 yards in the loss - 20 more than what they gained on the ground in a 28-14 win over Wausau East Sept. 1. Freund added 55 yards on 16 carries and was 7 of 15 through the air for 21 yards.
"Our guys can do that," Ferge said. "Our team is built to run the ball and we can run the ball. We should be able to run the ball. We have a good back. We have a good running quarterback. Our offensive line is very athletic and strong. That is what we should be able to do. Yes, they did a good job with it tonight and I give them some credit, but we didn't get in the end zone and we needed to have more of it in other areas."
Stubbe finished with 76 yards on 15 carries for the Indians. Ben Vandehey was 6 of 11 for 160 yards and a touchdown through the air for Mosinee, which is the only Great Northern Conference school the Hodags have not defeated since joining the conference in 2010.
The Hodags (1-5, 0-3 Great Northern) return home to face Merrill in the homecoming game this Friday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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