November 16, 2020 at 8:14 a.m.
12 Hodags honored on All-GNC football team
12 Hodags honored on All-GNC football team
The Hodags had 12 team members named to the All-Great Northern Conference team, released Thursday. That's the most Rhinelander has had as a member of the GNC, surpassing the total of 11 players the Hodags had in 2012 and 2019.
Five players received all-conference recognition at multiple positions - Kirk Mathews, Joe Fugle, Jackson Labs, Quinn Lamers and Ben Sinclair. Overall, the Hodags had seven first-team and seven second-team selections, to go along with three honorable mentions.
"Our kids deserve it. They've had a great season," coach Aaron Kraemer said. "They've had great mentalities all year long and they stood out in the GNC in every single game. We're very excited about the number of players we were able to get on the team. It's very well-deserved for all the kids on that team."
Mathews, a senior lineman, was the only Hodag to receive first-team honors on both sides of the ball. On offense, he was part of a line that paved the way for the third-best offense in the conference in terms of both points and yards accumulated. Defensively, Mathews led the Hodags in the regular season in a number of impact categories, including tackles for loss (6), sacks (3) and forced fumbles (2).
Projected at the start of the year as an offensive lineman, Mathews blossomed during the season into a two-way player.
"I'm very proud that he was represented on both the offense and the defense because he's somebody that I can turn around and say to a sophomore kid or a freshman kid, 'Look, Kirk was in your shoes as a sophomore. As a junior he didn't start the year as our guy. He continually grew and got better,'" Kraemer said. "Even this season you saw it from Week 1 to Week 7. He continually grew and got better and became an all-star on our defense. I'm very, very proud of him."
Overall, four members of Rhinelander's offense line were recognized. Fugle, a junior, joined Mathews on the first team while seniors Ben Sinclair and Alex Olson received honorable mention.
"We knew that we were going to be solid there, but these guys have continually grown together all season long," Kraemer said. "Those guys have just continually gotten better every single week and they've had to grow together ... Maybe I'm biased, but I think we're the most versatile offense in the league, either running or passing. It starts up front. You to be able to keep your quarterback upright and you have to be able to provide holes for your running back. Those five guys, they're definitely the best offensive line I've coached so far."
Both Fugle and Sinclair were also honored for their defensive exploits. Sinclair received first-team recognition at defensive lineman and Fugle was a second-team outside linebacker.
Labs and Lamers, both seniors, were the two other Hodags to receive all-conference recognition at multiple positions.
Labs received first-team honors as a defensive back and second-team honors as a wide receiver. Labs tied a GNC record with six interceptions and also lead the conference averaging 24.9 yards per catch.
"Jackson, I can say lots of things about the way he played offensively and defensively," Kraemer said. "He's somebody, in my mind, that has the best hands and best body control I've ever coached. He's the biggest big play threat in our league."
Lamers added an interception defensively as the cornerback opposite of Labs in the secondary. Offensively, the quarterback ranked second in the conference in both passing yards (748) and total touchdowns (8) while finishing third in quarterback rating (96.1).
"He's the smartest player on the field at all times. He knows what's going on," Kraemer said. "He's a student of the game. He's a 4.0 student and a kid that's at the top of his class. But, better than that, he's also a great person. He worked really hard this season to learn a different passing game that what we've done in the past. He worked very hard to learn it, understand the read progressions and the fruits of his labor were simply that he was considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in our league."
Three other skill position players on Rhinelander's offense received recognition. Senior Travis Towne was named the conference's first-team tight end, while running backs Cayden Neri and Caleb Olcikas were named second-team and honorable mention, respectively.
Towne came on as a pass catcher in the second half of the season, hauling in eight passes for 113 yards and three touchdowns over the final four games of the regular season.
Neri was near the top of the GNC in rushing through three weeks of the season, before injuring his ankle in a Week 4 win over Ashland.
Olcikas became the primary ball carrier in Neri's stead and lead the team in rushing with 523 yards during the regular season. Both Neri and Olcikas averaged more than five yards per carry during the season.
"You would like to see what both of those guys could do on team by themselves, but I tell you right now they're selfless and they want to help each other out. Caleb and Cayden. They're competing against each other to be the best. When you see that type of competition in practice, you know how it's going to show up on Friday night."
All four members of Rhinelander's starting linebacker group received recognition from the conference. In addition to Fugle, junior Chad Hunt took home first-team honors while seniors Walker Hartman and Tyler Olson were named to the conference's second-team. Hunt, Tyler Olson and Hartman were the top three tacklers for the Hodags this season. Hunt added five tackles for loss and two sacks during the regular season.
"We're very blessed to have Chad be our representative on the first team," Kraemer said. He's third in the GNC in tackles. He's somebody that was at the top of our list as far as tackles for loss and sacks and, from the linebacker position, he's undeniably they guy that you see flying around on the field the most.
"Those linebackers, when you have a first teamer and three second teamers, your defense is going to be pretty good when you have that shell."
GNC champion Medford swept the special awards from the conference. Running back Aiden Gardner was the offensive player of the year, defensive end Emett Grunwald was the defensive player of the year and Ted Wilson was named coach of the year for the second consecutive year.
Rhinelander's 17 all-conference selections were second in the GNC, behind only Medford with 18. Medford also led the GNC with 10 first-team honorees, followed by Rhinelander with seven and Mosinee with six.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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