October 5, 2020 at 4:08 p.m.
Comeback kids
RHS rallies from early 14-0 hole, earns first win over Mosinee
Comeback kids
That happened again Friday night, but the Hodags' response to adversity underscored the renaissance that has taken place in the year-plus that Aaron Kraemer has been the team's head coach.
Rhinelander erased an early 14-0 deficit, took the lead with a 21-point third quarter and held on to defeat Mosinee 28-21 on Homecoming night at Mike Webster Stadium.
Jackson Labs had a pair of receiving touchdowns, recorded an interception and forced a key fumble that set up Walker Hartman's go-ahead touchdown. From there, the Hodag defense got another key fourth down stop and the offense kept Mosinee's high-flying offense off the field the rest of the way.
"This is changing. Our program is turning right now," Kraemer said after the Hodags scored their first win in 11 tries against Mosinee in Great Northern Conference play. "The success, it began last year with our seniors. This year our seniors are picking up where they left off and this thing is starting to roll over back to the positive side. I'm really excited to be the head coach at this moment, but all the credit goes to our players."
Cyle Kowalski caught a pair of touchdowns for Mosinee and Trevor Garski threw for 193 yards in relief of do-it-all player Michal Dul, who was unable to play Friday night due to a medical reason. Rhinelander answered with a balanced attack. Quinn Lamers threw for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Cayden Neri rushed for 133 yards. Hartman added 48 yards and a pair of scores on the ground.
That Rhinelander won the contest was remarkable, especially considering how the game started. The Indians led 14-0 after only 13 plays from scrimmage and could easily have been ahead by more if not for a pair of interceptions by the Rhinelander defense on the next two drives.
"Last week we told them to respond in the second half," Kraemer said, alluding to the Hodags' 21-18 come from behind win over Antigo. "They had to do it a little earlier this week."
After the Hodags went 3-and-out on the opening drive, Garski found Kowalski for a 41-yard catch and run on Mosinee's first offensive snap to give the Indians a 7-0 lead. Neri fumbled on Rhinelander's next offensive play and Mosinee found Kowalski again six plays later on an eight-yard pass to make it 14-0.
Mosinee threatened again after Hartman was stonewalled for the Hodags on fourth and 1 near midfield, but Labs intercepted Garski at the 5 on a post route intended for Kowalski.
Garski turned the tables, intercepting Lamers and returning the ball to the Rhinelander 6. However, two plays later Jacksen Smith undercut a corner route intended for Kowalski in the end zone to turn Mosinee away again.
Finally, after spinning its wheels for the first four possessions, the Hodag offense found some traction as they marched down the field on a 13-play drive. Neri picked up a fourth and 1 to keep the drive moving and, facing fourth-and-6 from the 30, Lamers chucked a pass to Labs on a corner route that the senior receiver hauled in right at the pylon to halve Mosinee's lead with 6:43 left in the half.
Rhinelander appeared to have tied the game at halftime as Lamers completed a Hail Mary to Labs in the end zone, but the play was nullified due to an illegal block in the backfield. That was the last time Rhinelander's offense was stopped.
After holding Mosinee to a 3-and-out to start the second half, the Hodags went to the ground game. Carries of 23 yards by Neri and 18 yards by Hartman helped get Rhinelander down to the 5. Hartman took it in from there to tie the game with 8:27 remaining in the third.
Mosinee answered on its next possession with an eight-play drive capped off by a nine-yard run on a jet sweep by Drayton Lehman, but Rhinelander responded again. A 41-yard scamper by Jacques Tulowitzky on a screen pass got Rhinelander back in Mosinee territory. Two plays later, Lamers found Labs again for another tip-toeing touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone to tie the game at 21.
"It helps to have a few deep shots and some big plays by Jackson Labs and some other guys," Kraemer said of Labs who finished with 101 yards on four receptions.
Labs shifted the momentum again on defense four plays later, jarring the ball free from Kowalski on a hook route. Tulowitzky recovered the ball along the sideline at the Mosinee 44.
Rhinelander took a shot right away on the sudden change of possession, with Lamers finding Labs again along the sideline down to the 1.
Hartman punched it in from there to give the Hodags their first lead at 28-21 with 2:20 left in the third.
Mosinee fought back with its longest drive of the night. A 26-yard catch by Lehman erased a couple of penalties and got Mosinee down the Rhinelander 9 for a third-and-2, but the Hodag defense stood, stopping Lehman on a jet sweep and then Garski on a keeper to take over with 9:08 remaining.
Rhinelander milked the clock from there, driving inside the 20 before facing fourth-and-long with six seconds remaining. Lamers rolled out and chucked the ball out of the back of the end zone as time expired.
"It wasn't necessarily the way we would have drawn it up or planned it, I told you last week, it doesn't matter with these boys, they've got fortitude and they'll win," Kraemer said. "They want to win. It doesn't matter. It was an excellent, excellent, excellent response from our boys."
Wear them down
After a shaky start, Rhinelander eventually managed to wear down Mosinee's defense. The Hodags finished with 384 yards of offense - 192 each rushing and passing - held the ball for 29 minutes, 25 seconds and ran 13 more offensive plays than did the Indians, who finished the night with 258 yards of offense.
"You saw that tonight early. Those guys looked really, really good and really, really fast. But, after time, as time goes on in the game, you start to wear down and you start to get hits on these players," Kraemer said. "As we did get hits on the players, our defense started to roll, our offense started to roll. We imposed our will in the second half."
Dul down
The absence of Dul was no doubt a blow to Mosinee. The senior enters this season with a chance to become the first player in Great Northern Conference history to be a four-year all-conference recipient. Not only was he Mosinee's starting quarterback and cornerback, he is also their punter and place kicker.
Mosinee managed to replace him rather well, however. Garski finished 17 of 26 for 193 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Eli Miland was 3-for-3 in point after attempts and Kowalski averaged just under 34 yards per punt on three attempts.
"Credit to Mosinee. If you lose your quarterback, if you don't have your quarterback, the guy you think is going to start the week, that's a very difficult task to overcome," Kraemer said. "That's a very tough team and you're going to see, as they move through the GNC, they're going to be formidable. When they get Michal Dul back, they're going to be up there in the GNC with all of us."
Trainer's room
The Hodags had to lean on their depth during the game as lineman Ben Sinclair, Hartman and Neri all left the game at some point due to injury. Hartman and Neri were able to return, as was Sinclair for a bit before leaving again in the second half. AJ Bergman, who was slated to start at nose tackle on Friday night, missed the game due to illness.
"We had guys step up to the plate tonight, and you saw a bunch of different numbers," Kraemer said. "You talk about Mandela Anderson, Brock Snyder. You talk about Owen Kurtz, a freshman. The biggest step up to me tonight was Caleb Shefveland. You talk about your all-conference left guard (Sinclair) coming out of the game and a guy that had everything to be down about after the first game of the season, losing out to Conner Jensen and not being able to take that center position. I told him last week, 'We'll find a spot for you.' We had him snapping extra points. Huge points for us today."
Up next
Mosinee (1-1) hosts Medford (2-0), which destroyed Antigo 43-0 on Friday night. Rhinelander (2-0) travels to Merrill (1-1) to take on the Bluejays. Merrill lost 34-6 at Lakeland on Friday.
Rhinelander, which has not defeated Merrill since 2012, will look to avenge a 27-21 overtime loss to the Bluejays last season.
"We need to exact the revenge from last year," Kraemer said. "We thought we were going to win that game, go to the playoffs. They matched up well against us, played well against us. They're a great team and we can't look by anybody."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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