October 8, 2018 at 12:48 p.m.
Rain on the parade
Ashland beats Rhinelander 28-6 on homecoming, clinches share of GNC title
Rain on the parade
Justin Miller returned the game's opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown and the Oredockers never looked back, defeating the Hodags 28-6. The win clinched a share of the Great Northern Conference title for Ashland (7-1, 5-0) which, prior to this year, had never won more than two games in a season in the GNC.
Rhinelander (1-7, 0-5) can relate. The Hodags are 2-28 in their last 30 GNC games and need a win this coming Friday at Lakeland to avoid their fourth winless conference season in coach Chris Ferge's five seasons as head coach.
"We played well at times, not well enough to win," Ferge said afterward. "We had three big plays we gave up defensively and the big kickoff return really hurt us. Besides that, I thought we hung in the game.
"We had some good plays here and there against the conference champs. Defensively, to give up 21 (excluding the opening kickoff) was pretty good. We did limit their big plays."
Ashland seemed to adjust to a sloppy field better than the Hodags at the start of the game. Dual-threat quarterback Jordan Brennan put Ashland up two scores late in the first quarter on a one-yard keeper and the Oredockers scored once more late in the first half on a two-yard run by Billy Watland to take a 22-0 lead at the break.
Miller scored again midway through the third quarter to give Ashland a 28-0 lead.
The Oredockers controlled the game, outgaining Rhinelander 365-150 overall. Ashland had three different players rush for 50 yards or more, led by an 11-carry, 104-yard performance by Watland.
Drake Martin provided the biggest offensive highlight of the night for Rhinelander, scoring on a 45-yard run with a little more than a minute to play in the game.
A grand performance
The long touchdown run by Martin, keyed by a block on the edge from pulling center Trevor Knapp, allowed the Hodag junior to reach a couple of milestones.
The run put Martin over 100 yards for the game - he finished with 125 yards on 22 carries - and allowed him to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season.
"I'm not surprised," Ferge said of Martin's accomplishment. "He's doing a lot of great things right now with our line really wounded. He's definitely getting yards after contact and working hard ... He's a rock, a very, very solid player. What I really like is the maturity this year. He's not coming off the field. He's playing both sides. Last year, he couldn't handle that at all. This year, he's definitely staying on the field more and contributing that way as well."
QB switch
Rhinelander changed quarterbacks midway through the first quarter after Brock Lieder fumbled a snap on the opening play of the team's second possession. The Hodags went with sophomore Quinn Lamers the rest of the way.
In his postgame interview, Ferge said ball security played a factor in the move. The fumble was Lieder's seventh turnover in the last three games.
"It's hard. We've looked at it both ways. We've looked at it a long time (asking), 'Is Quinn ready?," Ferge said, "We're looking to make plays. We need to start making plays and that's why we went that route."
Lamers went 4-for-10 for 53 yards and threw a pair of interceptions in the game. The first was a contested ball over the middle that went through the hands of Lieder, who was moved to wide receiver following the switch. Brennan picked it off for Ashland and returned the ball inside the Rhinelander 20.
The second was an underthrown ball to Josh Francisco in the third quarter that was nabbed by Zach Lindenberg.
"Quinn, I was happy with the way he played," Ferge said. "He had some snaps he needed to handle better. There were some situations, I thought he threw up some balls that were 50/50 balls that our guys didn't fight for hard enough. Our receivers are going to have to do that because Quinn's a lot different as a quarterback."
As for Lieder, Ferge said the senior took the move as well as he could have, given the circumstances, and came through in the second half with a difficult grab over the middle on fourth down to extend a drive.
"I give Brock a lot of credit," Ferge said. "He finished this game. He played hard defensively. I'm really proud of him. I didn't hear a thing out of his mouth. He fought and played the rest of the game. I know he wasn't happy, nor would I expect him to be."
Ferge wouldn't commit to a starting quarterback heading into the finale at Lakeland.
"We'll see what happens. Nothing's set in stone and we'll look at the week of practice coming up," he said.
Sloppy field
Friday's game was played in extremely wet, muddy conditions as an already saturated Mike Webster Stadium field took on more water with on-and-off rain during the day Friday. A heavy mist hung over the field for much of the contest.
That created plenty of issues with footing and ball security for both teams. Officially there were nine fumbles in the contest, including one on a botched hook and ladder play by the Hodags late in the first half. Ashland fumbled five times, losing only one. Rhinelander had four fumbles, losing two.
Rhinelander committed four turnovers in a game for the third week in a row.
"It was a huge, huge factor in this game and I knew all week that this field was going to be in trouble," Ferge said. "I thought we handled it all right. I don't think we handled it the wrong way."
Senior night
In addition to homecoming, Friday was senior night for the Hodags at Mike Webster Stadium as Rhinelander's class of 10 seniors played its final game at home.
"I was proud of our seniors. It's tough. They had a lot of guys quit on their class and they stuck it out. I love them. They fought hard tonight," Ferge said.
Up next
The Hodags close the season at Lakeland this coming Friday in the fourth playing of the Northwoods Axe Game. Rhinelander defeated Lakeland 49-34 last year to win the Axe for the first time in three tries.
Lakeland (3-5, 1-4 Great Northern) comes into the game off a 20-14 win over Marquette, Mich. on Friday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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