December 22, 2020 at 11:17 a.m.
2020 year in review: Top 10 local games
WIAA D2 girls' state swim meet top local game of 2020
2020 year in review: Top 10 local games
From state championships to playoff achievements to overtime thrillers, there were plenty of games to talk about with excitement in 2020. We at the River News have come up with the 10 we thought were the best.
Team state championships don't come around the Hodag city often - one has to go back to 1987 and boys' cross country team to find Rhinelander's last gold trophy in a sport sanctioned by the WIAA.
The RHS girls' swim team broke that drought this year and, for that reason, the WIAA D2 state meet tops our list. Among the games it beat out - three thrilling down-to-the-wire finishes for the RHS football team during its magical 8-1 run, two monumental upsets by the RHS boys' hockey team, the highest scoring RHS boys' basketball game in recent history, and championship moments for the RHS girls' basketball and boys' soccer teams.
The following is our list of top 10 games, along with a few excellent contests that did not quite make the cut.
1. WIAA Division 2 state girls' swim meet - Girls' swimming, Friday, November 13
The recap: The Rhinelander High School girls' swim team won its first ever WIAA team state championship, fending off Shorewood by 27 points to take the overall title. Rhinelander won four events on the night, including three of the final four, as they rallied from behind late in the meet. Malia Francis repeated as state champion in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100 backstroke, and was also on Rhinelander's victorious 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams. Overall, the Hodags broke five school records and had eight podium finishes in the meet.
Quotable: "It means more than I can even put into words. This was years and years of hard work for these girls. This did not happen overnight and it did not happen without a lot of people - their parents, coaches - along the way at all different levels, the community supporting them, rooting for them team and making this happen." - Jenny Heck, RHS girls' swim coach
2. Rhinelander 21, Antigo 18, 2OT - Football, Friday, September 15
The recap: The Hodag football team had plenty of dramatic moments during a magical 2020 season but perhaps none more thrilling than what transpired in the 86th Bell Game at rival Antigo. Rhinelander rallied from down a score late, tied the game, prevented Antigo from scoring a game-winning two-point conversion and eventually won 21-18 in two overtimes on a Quinn Lamers 27-yard field goal. The Hodags drove 69 yards over seven-plus minutes in the fourth quarter to set up the game-tying TD with 49 seconds remaining, and then scored in the first possession of overtime. Antigo matched, and had a chance for the win, but the Hodags stuffed fullback Joss Huess on the two-point attempt. Then Jackson Labs separated Logan Thomae from the ball on a fourth-and-5 play in the second overtime to give the Hodags a chance to win it. Lamers, who missed two PATs earlier in the game, redeemed himself with one final boot as Rhinelander won in Antigo for the first time since 2002.
Quotable: "I was just so focused on getting it up that time so it wouldn't get blocked. I was doing anything to get it up in the air. I almost missed short again. I can't even tell you what this feels like. This is amazing." - Quinn Lamers
3. Rhinelander 27, Mosinee 26 - Football, Thursday, November 19
The recap: The Hodag football season started in dramatic fashion and had plenty of heart-stopping games along the way. There was only one fitting way for the season to end - on a game decided in the final moments. The Hodag defense stopped a draw by Mosinee quarterback Michal Dul on a game-deciding two-point conversion attempt with 1:31 remaining and held on to a one-point victory. Rhinelander controlled the game, racking up 489 yards of total offense, but failed to convert fourth downs in the red zone on three occasions in the second half. Meanwhile, three of Mosinee's four scores were from 59 yards or more, including a 61-yard pass from Dul to Drayton Lehman that set up the dramatic finale. Jacksen Smith recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Hodags kneeled down a couple of times to secure a regional title and their eighth win of the season, the most since 1989.
Quotable: "All the games that we played so far this year set us up for the moment we needed it the most, and our guys came through," - Aaron Kraemer, RHS football coach
4. Rhinelander 5, Northland Pines 2 - Boys' hockey, Thursday, December 3
The recap: 2020 has been full of sports moments we haven't seen in a long time. It only stands to reason that the most recent entry on our top games list followed suit and was perhaps the most 2020 result of them all. The Rhinelander High School boys' hockey team not only beat Northland Pines, they did so at the venerable Eagle River Sports Arena. Down 2-0 in the first period, the Hodags rallied behind the strength of four power play goals - including three in third period - to break open a 2-2 tie. RHS boys' hockey coach M.J. Laggis had never defeated Northland Pines in his varsity coaching career and the last time the Hodags defeated the Eagles on the ice dates all the way back to 1991.
Quotable: "It's emotional. I get a little choked up feeling, seeing it. Not to be dramatic about it, but you get choked up about it and you realize it's awfully nice to come up here in win in a building you haven't won in before." - M.J. Laggis, RHS boys' hockey coach
5. Rhinelander 60, New London 51 - Girls' basketball, Saturday, February 29
The recap: New London lambasted Rhinelander 53-22 in the regional finals during the 2019 WIAA girls' basketball tournament. The two teams met again on Leap Day and the Hodags turned the tables. Rhinelander rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 60-51 and advance to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament for the first time since online playoff records were kept back in 2000. New London scored the first 12 points in the contest but Rhinelander rallied to within one at 28-27 at the break. Rhinelander seniors Cynthia Beavers and Kenedy Van Zile - the 2019-20 GNC co-players of the year - combined for 38 points and 19 rebounds in the contest.
Quotable: "We just had to keep our mentality up and had to keep fighting. We couldn't panic at all. We all had to stay calm as a team and we knew we could do it in the end, but we had to leave everything on the court and fight for that back." - Cynthia Beavers
6. Rhinelander 3, Lakeland 1 - Boys' hockey, Thursday, February 20
The recap: The seventh-seeded RHS boys' hockey team shocked second-seeded Lakeland 3-1 to start the WIAA Division 2 playoffs at the Lakeland Ice Arena. Jake Losch scored twice in the game for the Hodags, Harlan Wojtusik added another goal and Seth Stafford made 30 saves in the contest. Rhinelander nearly pulled off another upset five days later, falling at third-seeded Mosinee in overtime, 3-2.
Quotable: "To do it in this building, they didn't expect it. They came in thinking it was going to be an easy game because they beat us earlier in the year, but we came out and played exactly how we wanted to and we got the win." - Jake Losch
7. Rhinelander 95, Ashland 91 - Boys' basketball, Tuesday, March 3
The recap: The Hodag boys' basketball team outgunned Ashland in the highest scoring game in the current configuration of the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium, defeating the Oredockers 95-91 - in regulation - in a WIAA D2 regional quarterfinal. The teams combined to shoot 57.4% from 3-point range, making a combined 31 of 54 attempts from beyond the arc. The game finished with nine players scoring 10 or more points. Four players scored at least 20 points - including 23 each from Rhinelander's Drake Martin and Ross Skeen. The game set records for both the most points scored and most points allowed by a Hodag team in coach Derek Lemmens 10-year tenure as head coach at his alma mater.
Quotable: "You want to be upset but, at the end of the day, there's a lot of teams that would take giving up that many points on their home court to still be around (in the WIAA tournament)." - Derek Lemmens, RHS boys' basketball coach
8. Rhinelander 29, Stratford 27 - Football, Friday, October 23
The recap: The most unexpected game of the 2020 season for the RHS football team had one of the wildest endings. Jackson Labs knocked a game-tying two-point conversion attempt away from Rafie Smart and Rhinelander held on for a 29-27 win over back-to-back WIAA Division 5 state finalist Stratford at Mike Webster Stadium. The Hodags spotted the Tigers 15 first quarter points and then scored 21 in the second to take a six-point lead at halftime. Rhinelander was ahead 29-15 in the fourth quarter but the Tigers scored twice over the final 3 minutes, 4 seconds to make things interesting. That the game happened at all was somewhat remarkable. Rhinelander was supposed to play Lakeland that night, but Lakeland had to pause football activities due to COVID-19 concerns. The Rhinelander-Stratford game didn't come together until less than 24 hours before kickoff. Because of that, a number of volunteers spent most of Friday afternoon removing snow and ice from the Mike Webster Stadium turf.
Quotable: "That's how (RHS activities director Brian) Paulson is and, honestly, that's the person I want to thank right now. Nobody knows how this week went, Tuesday night at 8 o'clock getting a call about Lakeland. Then Wednesday, searching for a game and finding one we just didn't think was going to work out. Then Thursday, nothing. There was really nothing that was going go happen. He kept holding out hope. He kept working, trying to find a game, and he found us one." - Aaron Kraemer, RHS football coach
9. Rhinelander 3, Mosinee 2 - Boys' soccer, Tuesday, October 13
The recap: Needing anything except a regulation loss to clinch the Great Northern Conference championship, the RHS boys' soccer team took things down to the wire at home against Mosinee. A Matthew King goal in the 87th minute proved to be the difference as the Hodags edged the Indians 3-2 to lock up the conference crown. Scoreless at halftime, Rhinelander scored twice early in the second half, only to see Mosinee answer both goals in less than a minute's time. It was the second dramatic finish between Rhinelander and Mosinee in a week. Hugh Wiese scored on a breakaway in the 84th minute to give Rhinelander a 2-1 win over Mosinee Oct. 6 at Edgewood Park.
Quotable: "We wanted to win it outright. We didn't want to tie. We wanted to take it all the way and finish what we started at the beginning of the season. That was our goal and the kids accomplished it. I couldn't be prouder." - Nathan Bates, RHS boys' soccer coach
10. Rhinelander 6, Marshfield Columbus 1 - Girls' tennis, Monday, August 24
The recap: The game itself was pretty anticlimactic. The RHS girls' tennis team swept doubles and cruised to a 6-1 victory over Marshfield Columbus at the RHS tennis courts. However, the Hodags' season opener makes our list for a couple of other notable reasons. For starters, it was the first victory for coach Matt Nichols, who took over the helm of the program after long-time coach Bob Heideman's retirement in May. More importantly, it was the first RHS sport of any kind since March 6, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That same evening, the Rhinelander school board affirmed carrying on with the rest of the fall prep calendar as planned.
Quotable: "It felt amazing, actually. I was a little nervous, but it was an indescribable feeling. Things actually felt a bit normal." - Annika Johnson, RHS girls' tennis player
Honorable mentions: In addition to the dramatic games previously listed, the RHS football team had a couple of other heart-stopping victories during the 2020 season. On Oct. 2, the Hodags rallied from down 14-0 in the first quarter to defeat Mosinee 28-21. Rhinelander scored 21 points in the third quarter of that contest, the only third quarter points Mosinee allowed all season until the teams met again in Week 9. To get to that Week 9 meeting, the Hodags had to climb out of a 20-6 first-half hole to defeat Lakeland 27-20. Quinn Lamers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:59 remaining as the Hodags retained the Northwoods Axe ... Speaking of trophy games against Lakeland, the RHS wrestling team had its against Lakeland come down to the final bout for the second year in a row. Hugh Wiese got a pin as the Hodags defeated the T-Birds 40-33 for the Handrick Hammer Jan. 16 ... The Northern Edge girls' hockey team recorded its own upset at the Eagle River Sports Arena back on Jan. 27. The Edge scored four unanswered goals to defeat Northland Pines 4-1 ... The craziest hockey game of the year didn't come at the prep level, rather that distinction went to the Rhinelander Ice Association's bantam hockey team, which defeated Lakeland 4-3 in overtime for third place in the WAHA Bantam 3A state tournament. The Hodags trailed 3-0 in the first period but rallied back. Finn Tulowitzky scored with 1.6 left in regulation to send the game to overtime and Joey Belanger won it 24 seconds into the extra session.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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