September 24, 2018 at 12:52 p.m.
Big plays help Mosinee pull away to 42-21 win over Hodags
Big plays help Mosinee pull away to 42-21 win over Hodags
Rhinelander racked up nearly 350 yards of offense - including a career night from junior tailback Drake Martin - but it was not enough to overcome four turnovers and a slew of mistakes in a 42-21 loss to Mosinee Friday night at Mike Webster Stadium.
Mosinee (4-2, 3-1 Great Northern) took control in a 21-point second quarter as it remained the only GNC team Rhinelander has not defeated at least once since joining the conference back in 2010.
Mosinee led 28-14 at halftime and pulled away late, scoring off both of Rhinelander's second half giveaways.
"We had a lot of huge mistakes and they got big plays," Rhinelander coach Chris Ferge said. "It's not a matter of us not being able to hang with them. We can hang with them. We had some really big plays go against us tonight and they have the athletes to make you pay for that. I give Mosinee all the credit in the world. They're a good team."
The Indians' two-headed backfield of William Kennedy and Carter Samples combined to rush for 301 yards and all six of Mosinee's touchdowns in the contest. The two highlighted Mosinee's big-play ability early and often.
Kennedy got the scoring started with a 64-yard scamper with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter. He appeared to be bottled up on a run off right tackle by Rhinelander's Connor Lund, but somehow escaped after getting pushed back into the backfield, slipped around left end and raced down the sideline for a score.
After a 17-yard Walker Hartman touchdown run tied things up for Rhinelander late in the first, Mosinee scored on three consecutive offensive snaps in the second quarter to pull away.
Kennedy capped off a six-play drive with a one-yard score on the opening play of the second quarter. Rhinelander drove inside the Mosinee 40 on the next possession, but an ill-advised option pitch by quarterback Brock Lieder hit the turf and was scooped up by Mosinee's Wyatt Beyerl, who returned it to the Rhinelander 5. Carter Samples punched it in from there, and scored again from 70 yards out the next time Mosinee had the ball after Peyton Erikson was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 play at the Mosinee 30.
"We absolutely had them were we wanted them at times and we gave them way too big of plays," Ferge said. "They made us pay for it. It really was the whole story of the game."
Martin's big night
Martin followed Samples' long touchdown run with a long score of his own - an 82-yarder that cut Mosinee's advantage to two scores at the break. It was part of a huge night for Martin who rushed for a career-high 282 yards on 27 carries.
Martin added a nine-yard score late in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin.
"He had a couple plays where we missed blocks, he went through the guy that was supposed to tackle him and got us the first down on pure will," Ferge said. "Our line played well at times, but there were times where he actually kept our drives going with how he runs and how strong he is. It's really a credit to his work ethic and how hard he works. It was a good night for him. He got tons of yards after contact. That's his style. I thought he'd have a good night and he did."
The night put Martin back on track for his second-straight 1,000-yard season. He now sits at 799 yards rushing with three games life in the regular season.
Costly turnovers
Mosinee turned four Rhinelander turnovers into 21 points - including a pair of scores in the second half that helped put the game out of reach.
The Hodags drove inside the Mosinee red zone on the opening drive of the third quarter, but Suk Singh intercepted a Lieder slant pass intended Josh Francisco at the Mosinee 5 and the Indians marched down the field on a 14-play drive that ended with a Kennedy 28-yard run late in the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, center Trevor Knapp had to briefly come out of the game due to an equipment issue. Backup center Ben Sinclair misfired on both shotgun snaps he attempted. The second was recovered by Mosinee, which parlayed the takeaway into a Samples six-yard score a few plays later.
Key conversions
In addition to losing the turnover battle 4-2, the Hodags struggled to make plays on both sides of the ball on third and fourth down. Mosinee was 5-of-9 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth down.
Conversely, the Hodags were 5-of-13 on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. One of those fourth down conversions came on a punt fake in the fourth quarter as Sam Tjugum took a direct snap and rushed for four yards to convert on fourth-and-4 from Rhinelander's own 34.
By the numbers
Mosinee outgained Rhinelander 411-348 in the game, which marked the most yards Rhinelander's defense has allowed all season.
Samples rushed for 171 yards and Kennedy added 130 yards for Mosinee, which had three players average at least 10 yards per carry. Quarterback Trey Fitzgerald had five rushes for 50 yards and was 4 of 10 through the air for 33 yards. He was intercepted twice in the first half - once by Erikson and once by Francisco.
Hartman, who scored his first varsity touchdown for Rhinelander, finished with six carries for 33 yards. Lieder was 2 of 10 passing for 18 yards with an interception.
Back in the dance
Mosinee clinched playoff eligibility with the win, marking the second-straight year the Indians appear bound for the WIAA playoffs. Mosinee missed the postseason in 2016, Craig Martens' first year as head coach, which snapped a string of 14 straight postseason appearances under former head coach, Paul Nievinski.
Up next
Rhinelander travels to Merrill this Saturday to play in the Bluejays' homecoming game. Both teams will enter the contest 0-3 in the GNC and facing the dire situation of having to run the table in their three remaining regular season games to become playoff eligible.
"We're going to regroup and we're looking forward to next week," Ferge said. "We've got a lot of preparation for a homecoming game against Merrill on Saturday."
Merrill lost 30-18 on the road at Lakeland on Friday night.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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