November 11, 2020 at 11:19 a.m.
Rivalry and response
Hodags face familiar foe Lakeland to begin WIAA postseason
Rivalry and response
Despite the loss, not only were the Hodags a No. 1 seed for the two-week WIAA football culminating event, the team will have a second chance at an opportunity taken from them earlier in the season due to circumstances beyond its control.
There will be a Northwoods Axe game between GNC rivals Rhinelander and Lakeland after all and it will come in the first round of the postseason tonight at Mike Webster Stadium. The two teams were scheduled to meet Oct. 23 in Minocqua, but the T-Birds were forced to cancel due to a positive COVID-19 case on their team.
"I was upset about the way the season finished and I just couldn't sleep but, in the morning, it felt like I had won a conference championship when I heard we get an opportunity to play against Lakeland and we get a chance to finish up our season against, possibly, two conference rivals," Kraemer said. "That's something we're excited about. I know our kids are excited to play this game."
The news of a Rhinelander-Lakeland playoff matchup did not necessarily remove the sting of being denied the school's first conference championship since 1989, but Kraemer said it has helped the team to avoid dwelling on last week and focus its attention on the task at hand - defending the Axe and trying to win the first postseason game in program history to boot.
"Now we get to defend it at home, which is even better," Kraemer said. "I love the fact that we get to do that. We get home field advantage throughout the playoffs. That's a testament to our guys' hard work and commitment. Regardless of what happened last week, they were committed to having a great season and doing the best that they could to get to where they are right now. They've done that and now they get the opportunity for the spoils of their labors, to win the Axe at home and hoist that thing after we are done."
Trainer's room
Rhinelander was moving forward on Tuesday anticipating it will be without the services of senior running back and linebacker Walker Hartman, due to the knee injury he suffered in last Friday night's loss against the Raiders.
It will be on a pair of juniors - Cole Lehman and Cayden Neri - to carry to load in the middle of the Hodags' defense along with fellow junior middle linebacker Chad Hunt.
"Those two guys replacing Walker, they're never going to be Walker," Kraemer said. "Walker is Walker and he brings his own traits to the game and I would never disparage him, but if we had a setup where we have to prepare in the next two weeks with the guys we think can do it, those two guys are going to step up to the plate defensively."
Offensively, Kraemer said Neri is getting closer to 100% as he works his way back from the ankle injury suffered in a Week 4 win over Ashland. Neri was held to three yards on six carries against the Raiders. He, Caleb Olcikas and Joe Schneider will rotate at the running back positions throughout the game, if Hartman cannot play.
COVID reset
The Thunderbirds returned from their two-week COVID break with an 8-6 victory over Antigo last Friday night. Brayden Wiczek hit Victor Masayesva for an 86-yard game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game and Brandon Zajac ran in what turned out to be the game-winning two-point conversion.
Rhinelander has seen Lakeland on film throughout the season while scouting their upcoming opponents. Kraemer said he didn't notice any real surprises from Lakeland in its first game back.
"Defensively, no, I don't see any thing different in them, but offensively, sometimes its hard to come off a break and stay in sync," he said. "I think they put in some things, last week, that could be some easy money plays. We saw some empty (backfield), some jet sweeps, some things like that they've run in the past, which is nothing new but we hadn't seen all season long."
Lakeland offense
While Dan Barutha's Lakeland offense features an air-raid pass attack, it has become much more balanced this year with the emergence of senior running back Erik Albertus. Though Albertus has only one touchdown on the year, he's averaging 86.4 yards per game on the ground - third best in the GNC. His 107 touches are a team high and account for roughly 42.4% of Lakeland's offense this year and the T-Birds are running the ball at roughly at 60% clip.
"Erik Albertus is a special athlete. We saw him play several times at the end of the season and he's a good athlete," Kraemer said. "He's somebody I know coach Barutha counts on and whenever you have a special athlete and that's the guy you want to go to, you want to get multiple formations to give him the football. One of the ways he can beat us is running the football."
Wiczek, a sophomore, has passed for 441 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions this year while completing just more than 46% of his throws. Victor Masayesva is the leading target with 15 catches, 208 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Jack Hartzheim (14 catches) and Max Masayesva (10 catches) also factor heavily into the passing game.
Lakeland defense
Though the T-Birds are seventh in the GNC, giving up 284.6 yards per game defensively, they've been solid in the run game ad 175.8 yards allowed per game and are fifth in the GNC in scoring defense, allowing 19.4 points per game.
Rocky Wagoner and River Nicklaus are two impact players for the T-Birds, and the team's two leading tacklers. Wagoner was 50 tackles, including four tackles for loss and three sacks. Nicklaus had 37 tackles, including five tackles for loss.
"Defensively, they look like the same team, they're a 4-4 type team, sometimes even a 6-2 team with their outside backers coming off the edges," Kraemer said. "They're physical up front. They want to beat you up front at the point of attack immediately and overload you in certain ways."
Notes and nuggets
Rhinelander is making only its fourth WIAA postseason appearance and its still in search of its first playoff win. Lakeland, which won the Division 3 state title in 1983, is making its 19th playoff appearance, but only its second since 2009. Both teams were eliminated in Level 1 of the WIAA playoffs last year. Rhinelander lost to River Falls 43-8 while Lakeland fell to Menomonie 52-8.
Tonight's game marks the sixth playing for the Northwoods Axe, established in 2015 through both football programs along with the sister newspapers that cover both communities - the Northwoods River News and The Lakeland Times. Lakeland holds a 3-2 lead in the trophy series, with all three of its wins coming by a touchdown or less. Rhinelander has taken two of the last three, however, including a 25-7 win at Mike Webster Stadium last year. Both of Rhinelander's wins in the Axe Game series came at home.
The winner of tonight's game will play Mosinee next Thursday night in the season finale. The Indians, the No. 3 seed in the four-team regional pod advanced when second-seeded Wausau West opted out of the postseason after the tournament pairings were announced, according to WisSports.net. Mosinee will play a replacement game at Cadott this evening instead.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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