September 16, 2019 at 1:12 p.m.
Jacked up!
Hodags take down undefeated Lumberjacks 31-13, move to 4-0
Jacked up!
Drake Martin scored five touchdowns and the Hodags knocked off previously unbeaten Wausau East 31-13 at Mike Webster Stadium to improve to 4-0 on the season for the first time since 1974.
Rhinelander did it by beating Wausau East at its own game. The Hodags outgained the Lumberjacks 295-204 on the ground and held East standout tailback Donovan Leverette to less than 100 yards rushing for the first time this season.
"We told the kids all week watching film this is a big and physical team," coach Aaron Kramer said. "You saw that tonight. Wausau East is a good team, and they're going to give a lot of teams in our conference the rest of the way some trouble. Tonight, really our toughest test was physically in the center. We came out right away to pound them and put our best on their best. I thought we did a really good job of that."
After holding Wausau East to three-and-out on its opening possession, the Hodags marched down the field on their opening drive as Martin scored on a 14-yard screen pass from Quinn Lamers to give the Hodags a lead they would never relinquish. Rhinelander led 12-0 after one quarter, 18-7 at the half and 25-7 after three quarters.
Things could have gone sideways for Rhinelander midway through the fourth quarter after Matt Heinrich scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to bring East within 25-13 with 6:47 to play. The Lumberjacks succesfully recovered on onside kick and were set up in Rhinelander territory, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty set the Lumberjacks back.
Facing fourth and 22 from the Hodag 47, Heinrich was sacked by Peyton Erikson back at the East 42 as Rhinelander came away with its biggest stop of the game.
"They just stepped up to the challenge and did exactly what we asked them to do," Kraemer said. "(Defensive coordinator Gary) Zarda put them in a good position again and they executed. They're flying around. That's a good defense."
Five plays later, Martin scored from four yards out to account for the final margin.
Dominant Drake
Martin finished a close second to Madison LaFollette's Kavonte Shorter in statewide player of the week voting on WisSports.net for Week 3. After the voting, Martin tweeted out a statement that read in part, "Even though it wasn't the outcome a lot of us would have liked, I appreciate all the love and support. It's amazing to see what a small community can do with things like this. I would like to thank all of the players on my team and coaches, because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't have had the game I did putting me in the running for this award."
Martin delivered another statement on the field Friday night. He capped off Rhinelander's second drive with a six-yard score to put the Hodags ahead 12-0 with 1:38 left in the first. His third score came on a five-yard run with 2:48 remaining in the half.
An 11-yard run capped off Rhinelander's opening drive of the second half, which took 4:15 off the clock and put the Hodags ahead three scores. Martin lost a shoe in the backfield on his final scoring run, but darted through a hole up the middle anyway on his way to the end zone.
"Drake had a hell of a game and he's a heck of a player," Kraemer said. "This week we felt so loved by the community they way they rallied around him and voted for him in the WSN poll, and they might have another opportunity this week with the way that he played."
Martin wasn't alone in torching a Wausau East defense that came into the night, allowing just more than 60 yards per game on the ground. Erikson rushed for 103 yards on only six carries, including a 44-yard run that set up Martin's third-quarter score. Walker Hartman added 36 yards on seven carries.
"The guys that spell him, the guys that are in the backfield with him, they make my job easier," Kraemer said. "Earlier in the game, Drake wasn't the one that was toting the rock. It was Walker. It was Erikson and that's exactly what we expect from those guys. They're just a good group of kids and they're working their tails off. They have gelled together. They know Drake is the guy. They know he's the person who's going to carry us late in the game, but they also know teams key on them. They've done their job more than we could ask for."
Denying Donovan
Donovan Leverette came into Friday's game averaging 11.3 yards per carry for the Lumberjacks in coach Kevin Grundy's Wing-T attack.
His longest carry of the night was 11 yards as the Hodags kept him in check.
"Defensively, they just stood up tall to the test. That No. 2 (Leverette) is a great player. He really is and they have a very good offensive line. I thought we contained them well," Kraemer said. "He's an athlete and we knew we had to put him down to the ground, squeeze his legs and take him down - not miss. I think some of his larger runs were because we missed tackles and we have to shore that up but, I tell you what, coach Zarda he is a meticulous planner. He absolutely makes sure our guys are prepared for everything that they're going to see and the kids are having a lot of fun playing for him."
Leverette finished the night with 94 yards on 22 carries.
Rolling with the punches
East threatened to get back into the game on a couple of occasions, but Rhinelander answered each time. The Lumberjacks' first score came after the Hodags were turned over on downs moments into the second quarter. East marched 68 yards down the field, capped off by a nine-yard run from Leverette to make it 12-7. The Hodags responded with a scoring drive of their own, but East was able to march deep into Rhinelander territory again, before being stopped on a goal-to-go situation.
East settled for a 25-yard field goal attempt by Caleb Gruszynski that sailed wide right - Gruszynski's first miss on place kick attempt in 13 tries this season - as the Hodags maintained an 18-7 lead going into halftime.
"They're putting themselves in positions early on where they can defend a lead and play strong," Kraemer said.
Battle of unbeatens, Part III
The reward the Hodags receive for passing their biggest test of the season to date will be to go on the road this Friday for their biggest test of the season to date.
Rhinelander will take on Medford in a battle of 4-0 teams, the winner likely having an early leg up in the Great Northern Conference title race.
The Raiders entered the week No. 4 in Division 3 in the WisSports.net coaches poll, and will likely stay there, if not climb again, after shellacking Lakeland 49-7 Friday night in Minocqua.
"This is an even tougher test now," Kraemer said. "We play Medford. It's a conference game. It's a chance for us to get one step closer to the playoffs. It's traveling. It's the perfect storm for them. We've got to take them out of their comfort zone early and give ourselves a chance early. If we weather the early storm, I think we have a good chance against them, too."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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