May 8, 2020 at 11:15 a.m.
Top moments of prep sports season, part II
Top moments of prep sports season, part II
Who knows what the spring sports season would have brought in terms of Hodag athletics. Late last month the WIAA canceled all spring competitions and state tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while affording spring teams 30 contact days this July for possible practices and games, assuming it is safe to do so at that time.
If the fall and winter sports seasons were any indication, we would have been in for an exciting spring campaign full of memorable moments.
In the Tuesday, May 5 edition, we unveiled position Nos. 6-10 on our memorable moment list. Today, we count down our top five moments, and some other cool moments that did not quite make the top 10 in a pretty memorable 2019-20 sports season.
1. Be the light
While the 2019-20 season had plenty of incredible moments for Rhinelander sports fans, the image that will best tell the story of this season when we look back 10, 20, 50 years from now is of the lights on at Mike Webster Stadium and Stafford Field with nobody playing. The Be the Light campaign lit up many Wisconsin prep sports facilities - Rhinelander's included - in the days leading up to an announcement by the WIAA that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Safer at Home order issued by Gov. Tony Evers, the 2020 spring sports season in Wisconsin would be canceled.
2. Hodag football playoff bound
Not to downplay the significance of wins for the Rhinelander High School football over main conference rivals Antigo and Lakeland, but the most significant victory of the 2019 season came in a do-or-die situation Week 9 at Ashland. The Hodags held off a late rally from the Oredockers to win 16-12, clinching only the third WIAA football playoff berth in school history and the team's first above-.500 season since 1994.
"It's crazy. At the start of the season, that was our goal and to accomplish it, I don't know, it hasn't sunk in yet," fullback Walker Hartman said following the victory.
3. Bye bye Bulldogs
Much like the RHS football team, while the Hodag girls' basketball team treated its fans to a remarkable season, one final victory launched its campaign into a whole other stratosphere. It was a storybook setup for the Lady Hodags hosting a WIAA regional final against New London - the same team that routed Rhinelander out of the Division 2 tournament a year earlier.
Five minutes in, with the Hodags down 12-0 and GNC co-player of the year Cynthia Beavers in foul trouble, the prospects of another nightmarish end for the Lady Hodags seemed very real. But Rhinelander responded to get to within one at halftime and inched away in the second half for a 60-51 win and a trip to the sectional semifinals. Despite the early foul trouble, Beavers led the way with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
4. The Bell is back in town
We couldn't get very far down on our top 10 list without including the Hodag football team's first Bell Game victory since 2006. The Hodags vanquished arch-rival Antigo 20-10 at Mike Webster Stadium - a win that prevented the Red Robins from equaling a series-best 13-game winning streak from 1961-1973. Drake Martin rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns in the game while sophomore Caleb Olcikas added an 85-yard kick return for a score.
"I can't describe it right now," senior captain Peyton Erikson said. "All the hard work we've put in this season and offseason, all we wanted to do was accomplish greatness and make history."
5. Malia's double in Madison
The latest in the line of talented swimmers in the Francis family left her first mark on the Wisconsin high school swimming world back in November. Malia Francis captured the WIAA Division 2 state titles in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 100 backstroke to cap off a sensational sophomore campaign. Francis cruised to a 1.38-second win over Ashwaubenon's Hallory Domnick in the butterfly. Her time of 56.23 was the seventh-fastest in D2 state history. She followed that by knocking off reigning D2 backstroke state champ Mara Freeman by 0.96 seconds - finishing only 0.07 seconds off the D2 state record in the event (54.72).
Honorable Mentions: The RHS girls' basketball team had several great games that just missed the list, including one-possession wins at home against Mosinee, Crandon and Lakeland that all saw the opponent have a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession ... The RHS wrestling team's Handrick Hammer dual against Lakeland once again came down to the wire, with a Hugh Wiese pin in the meet's final bout securing a 40-33 win for the Hodags ... The RHS boys' swim team capped off a dominating GNC championship season with an equally dominant conference meet in its home pool. The Hodags won two races and placed at least one swimmer or entry in the top three in all 11 races ... Outside the RHS realm, the Rhinelander/Three Lakes boys' bowling team won its final four WiHSBC District 9 matches to qualify for the state meet, where it finished in fifth place overall ... The Rhinelander Ice Association's Bantam hockey team hosted and finished third in the WAHA 3A state tournament, rallying from down 3-0 in the first period to tie the game with less than two seconds to play in regulation before winning in overtime, 4-3.
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