December 2, 2020 at 12:45 p.m.
Team review: RHS football
Hodags showed knack for the dramatic in magical 2020 season
Team review: RHS football
"There will never be another season like this in Rhinelander Hodag football ever again," he said.
The 2020 campaign will certainly be one Hodag fans remember for quite some time. Simply playing a full nine-game schedule was remarkable, considering all the delays and obstacles that stood in the way due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rhinelander made the most of those opportunities, posting an 8-1 record - the most wins in a season for RHS since 1989. Though the Hodags' one loss against Medford prevented them from joining the short list of Rhinelander teams to claim conference championships, this year's squad did something no other Hodag team has ever done - win in the postseason.
"We made a lot of memories together," Kraemer said.
Indeed, from the Hodags' dramatic double-overtime win in the Bell Game over Antigo in the season opener to the two-point conversion stop late in the playoff capper against Mosinee, the 2020 season was chock-full of memorable moments.
Here's a look back at some of the biggest storylines of the season.
Getting the opportunity
Due to the pandemic, the Hodags went through much of the offseason not knowing what the 2020 campaign would look like or if there would be a season at all.
In late July the WIAA confirmed that there would be a fall football season for schools that were able to participate. The start of that season, however, would be delayed five weeks and start after school went back in session for the 2020-21 school year.
It was not until the Rhinelander school board affirmed its participation in fall sports in a special board meeting Aug. 24 that the Hodags received some clarity.
The first game of the season took place Sept. 25, what would have been Week 5 in a traditional season, and the Hodags played a full Great Northern Conference slate prior to two WIAA postseason games.
"We could have never done this alone. I want to thank our administration for believing in us and understanding that our kids want to play the game, and letting us have an opportunity to do so and keeping us safe," Kraemer said.
The only major hiccup along the way occurred when Rhinelander's opponent for the Oct. 23 contest, Lakeland, paused football activities due to a positive COVID case, leaving the Hodags scrambling for a replacement game. Rhinelander and Stratford struck a deal less than 24 hours before kickoff and the Hodags prevailed in a game between ranked teams, 29-27.
Heart attack Hodags
The game against Stratford came down to a last-ditch two-point conversion play as the Tigers nearly rallied from a 14-point deficit over the final four minutes of regulation.
Finishes like that were par for the course for this year's Hodags.
Rhinelander trailed in seven of their nine games this season, rallying to win six of them. Three times the Hodags rallied from first-half deficits of 14 points or more. Three times Rhinelander stopped opponents on game-tying or go-ahead two-point tries in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime.
"It's been that narrative all season long, that we have the fortitude to fight back and win games," Kraemer said following a playoff win over Lakeland. "Apparently our team wouldn't have it any other way."
It started Week 1 at Antigo, where a listless Rhinelander offense found itself behind 12-6 with 8:26 remaining and with the ball at its own 31. The Hodags marched down to score the game-tying touchdown by quarterback Quinn Lamers with 49 seconds remaining in regulation. After both teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, the Hodags stopped Antigo on a two-point try to force a second overtime, and then Jackson Labs came up with a big pass break up on fourth-and-5 to keep Antigo from scoring in the second overtime. Lamers won it on a 27-yard field goal - his first and only field goal of the season.
Rhinelander spotted Mosinee 14 points in Week 2 before rallying from behind with a 21-point third quarter to win 28-21. The Hodags were down 15-0 to Stratford in the first quarter in Week 5 before rallying back to lead 29-15 in the fourth quarter. Stratford scored twice late, but a Labs pass breakup in the end zone on a two-point try secured a two-point win for Rhinelander.
In the playoffs, the Hodags trailed 20-6 in the first to Lakeland, but rallied again. Lamers scored the go-ahead touchdown from four yards out with 1:59 left to give Rhinelander a 27-20 win. The Hodags were down 20-14 at halftime against Mosinee, but scored a pair of second half touchdowns to go up 27-20. Rhinelander had a chance to put the game away but was stopped on fourth-and-goal inside the 5 with just over two minutes remaining. Mosinee marched down the field to close within one before the Hodags stopped Michal Dul on a quarterback draw in what would have been a game-winning two-point try for the Indians.
Balanced offense
There were questions going into the start of the season regarding Rhinelander's running game, following the graduation of Drake Martin, who finished second all-time on the school rushing list.
As it turned out, the Hodags did not miss much of a beat, rushing for 194.1 yards per game and 22 touchdowns this season, compared to 203.6 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground last season.
A pair of juniors, Cayden Neri and Caleb Olcikas, split time as Rhinelander's featured back. Neri emerged late in the season opener against Antigo and was on pace for potentially a 1,000-yard season until suffering an ankle injury early in the Week 4 win over Ashland that cost him the better part of three games. Neri still finished the season as the team's leading rushing with 637 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Olcikas had a chance to shine with Neri out. He put up three straight 100-yard games in Neri's absence, highlighted by a 197-yard effort in the win over Stratford. Late in the season, Lamers turned into a multi-dimensional threat at quarterback. He rushed for 222 yards and four touchdowns over the final four games of the season.
Lamers' passing numbers also picked up this season. He completed 51.2% of his passes for 1,159 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions this year, compared to 41.1% completion, 802 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions a year ago.
Lamers favorite targets were Labs (18 receptions-437 yards-5 TDs), Jacques Tulowitzky (17-250-1) and Travis Towne (11-181-4).
All of the success was paved by an offensive line that had four all-conference selections in seniors Kirk Mathews, Ben Sinclair and Alex Olson and junior Joe Fugle.
Opportunistic D
It seemed that when Rhinelander's offense didn't produce, its defense was there to pick up the slack.
Despite replacing eight starters from a season ago, the Hodags were slightly better statistically this year, averaging 17.4 points and 221.8 yards per game. That was down from 17.8 points and 23.4 yards per game last year. What's more, Rhinelander created seven more takeaways this year (20 to 13) in one fewer game.
Labs, a finalist for the Jim Leonhard Award presented to the state's top senior defensive back, recorded seven interceptions - tied for the most in the state. He was one of four players on the Hodags defense to earn first-team all-GNC honors. Junior linebacker Chad Hunt ended the season as the team's leader in total tackles (73), tackles for loss (7) and forced fumbles (2). Mathews was right behind Hunt with six TFLs and had a team-high three quarterback sacks. Ben Sinclair added 24 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble from his nose guard position.
Linebackers Tyler Olson and Walker Hartman, who were second and third on the team in tackles, were among the Hodags' second team recipients, along with Fugle at linebacker and Lamers at defensive back.
What's next
The question for the Hodags this offseason will be the same as it was last year - what can the team do for an encore following its most successful season in the last three decades. Rhinelander followed up 6-4 in 2019 with 8-1 in 2020. Repeating that success in 2021 will not be easy, as the Hodags are projected to lose seven starters on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football.
Rhinelander should have the foundation for a solid running game next year, with Neri and Olcikas along with fellow senior-to-be Joe Schneider, who worked into the backfield rotation during the second half of the year following injuries to Neri and Hartman. Also, in Fugle and center Conner Jensen, the team will bring back two starters on the offensive line, along with Caleb Shefveland, Jacob Schoppe and Owen Kurtz, who all spelled the starters at times this season.
The passing game will be relatively unknown. Senior-to-be Jacksen Smith served as Lamers' backup this year and, assuming he gets the starting nod next year, will be throwing to a whole new cast of characters.
Defensively, the Hodags will have Hunt and Fugle returning in the linebacking core while fellow juniors Schneider and Cole Lehman got some valuable reps downs the stretch after Hartman went down with a season-ending knee injury against Medford.
Kraemer said, just like last year, how future classes carry forward the success brought by the 2020 Rhinelander Hodags will ultimately tell the story of this team's legacy.
"The one thing I'll say is if our junior class steps up to the challenge that our senior class put out for them this year, then we're going to have success going forward," he said. "We have a very talented junior class. We have a very talented sophomore class. We have a very talented freshman class, but now it's about growing in our leadership and getting our guys to understand what's important, what our program is about and how to win. Our seniors set us up completely for that."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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