October 7, 2020 at 1:27 p.m.
Returning the favor
Hodags seek revenge over Merrill, 3-0 start
Returning the favor
The Hodags, in their final home game of the regular season, were looking to punch a ticket to the playoffs but squandered an early 13-point lead as Merrill ground its way to an upset victory.
Tonight, Rhinelander looks to turn the tables and get its first victory over the Bluejays since 2012.
"Last year was our senior night and they spoiled our senior night," Kraemer said. "That's a sour one to take for me. They deserved the win that night. They were much more physical than we were and they deserved to win that football game."
But this year's Rhinelander team is quickly developing its own identity - one that began to show during last year's loss to Merrill when the Hodags drove the length of the field for a game-tying touchdown in the final seconds of regulation.
Two comeback wins in two weeks to start this season have the Hodags believing that they can overcome whatever adversity comes their way. Kraemer said that attitude was crystal clear at halftime last week with the Hodags trailing Mosinee 14-7 after having a game-tying Hail Mary touchdown wiped off the board due to a penalty on the final play of the first half.
"It was a different team than I've ever seen," he said. "Normally you go into a halftime talk and it's silent, and they're looking for the magic answer. These guys stood up and they were ready. They had the answers for me. As a coach, that just goes to show you that this is a special group, but they're listening and they understand the game."
A number of players have stepped up to start the season, perhaps none more so than senior cornerback/wide receiver Jackson Labs. Through two games, Labs has three interceptions, a forced fumble and a critical fourth down pass breakup on defense. He also had a big game offensively last week against Mosinee with four catches for 101 yards from the arm of quarterback Quinn Lamers. He was one yard and a penalty flag away from having a four-touchdown game against the Indians.
"His performance offensively was breathtaking, him and Quinn hooking up last week was awesome," Kraemer said.
Here are five storylines to watch entering tonight's contest.
Start faster
Kraemer said the Hodags are 2-0, "and we've yet to play four quarters in either of the games." The Hodags rallied to defeat Antigo 21-18 after trailing most of the game, and rallied from an early 14-0 deficit to defeat Mosinee 28-21. While the come from behind victories showed Rhinelander's mettle, Kraemer said the next step is for the Hodags to put it together for 48 minutes and play a complete football game.
A point of emphasis this week is starting faster, particularly on offense. Through two games, the Hodags have only 13 first-half points and each of their opening possessions have ended in three-and-outs.
"We can't wait for our offense to get going. We have to start faster," he said. "That's on me as the coordinator. I've got to figure out ways we can start quicker on offense, so we can get first down after first down and try to get a touchdown on our first drive. That was our mentality we had last year, we need to score on the first drive of every half. Maybe that mentality needs to come back and I need to start talking about it with my players."
To that end, Kraemer said one of the keys will be for his offensive line to sustain blocks to the whistle. He noted that his offensive line is beginning to gain more confidence after wondering how Drake Martin's rushing production from last year would be replaced. Cayden Neri has taken the bulk of the duty, with 256 yards and two touchdown runs so far this season.
New look, same concepts
Merrill switched to a spread formation this year, but don't let the look fool you. The concepts the Bluejays are running are still very much the same from last year.
That means a power running attack - featuring the veer and the midline option - spearheaded by a pair of seniors, quarterback Caleb DeJong and fullback Eddie Collinsworth.
DeJong rushed for 174 yards and three scores in the Bluejays' season-opening win over Ashland while Collinsworth has 103 yards rushing through two games. DeJong also threw the ball 16 times in the season opener against the Oredockers.
"Those are two really good players and two guys that can run the veer and the midline about as well as anybody in our conference, or anybody in the state," Kraemer said. "I think they are very, very good at it. DeJong and Collinsworth are two guys that we are keying on this week, we want to take care of."
Last year DeJong rushed for 162 yards on 25 carries and three scores in the overtime win over the Hodags, while Collinsworth had 38 yards on 16 carries and a score.
"This week our word is trust, so we can trust in each other to do our jobs, take away the plays in the option and force them to be left-handed, to throw the football."
Banged-up Bluejays
There's at least some question as to what sort of Merrill squad the Hodags will see tonight. DeJong was a scratch from last week's game due to injury, and four other players - including Collinsworth - were dinged up in Merrill's 34-6 loss at Lakeland last Friday.
Junior Carson Diels started in DeJong's place last week, rushing 20 times for 59 yards while going 3 of 12 through the air with a touchdown and an interception.
If DeJong can't go tonight, that would make back-to-back weeks that Rhinelander has faced backup quarterbacks, after Mosinee's Michal Dul was scratched from last week's game in Rhinelander.
"He's a great athlete and I hope we get a chance to play against him," Kraemer said. "I was upset last week that we didn't get a chance to play against Michal Dul. Nothing against our win, we deserved the win at the end, but we want to play against the best. We want to challenge ourselves against the best and we hope that Caleb will play."
On defense
Merrill runs a 4-2-5 look that can morph into a 4-4 depending on how their inside defensive backs align. But the Bluejays have had difficulty stopping the run so far this season, allowing 266 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry so far through two contests.
Collinsworth, at linebacker, is the only returning all-conference player for Merrill on the defensive side of the ball, and has nine tackles through two games so far this season. Alex Mann leads the way with 15 tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss. Mason Vander Velde has 13 tackles and a forced fumble.
"They have some larger defensive linemen, a pretty good 3-technique, Collinsworth playing linebacker for them, someone who can scrape and fill," Kraemer said. "He's a really good player. We have to make sure we know where he is and some corners and safeties that can move too and are athletic. We have to control the football again this week, keep the offense on the field. If the indicator of the end of last week is that we can control the football, then let's do it from start to finish."
COVID concerns
Of course, during this season merely getting to Friday night has been a challenge for a number of teams around the state. According to WisSports.net, roughly 24% (33 of 154) of last week's scheduled games were canceled due to COVID-19 related issues. Meanwhile, last week Merrill announced that it was cancelling the remainder of its boys' soccer season due to virus-related concerns.
Additionally, the Oneida County Health Department reported 172 cases of COVID-19 in the county from updates posted in a one-week period between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5.
Fortunately, as of his latest update on Wednesday, School District of Rhinelander superintendent Eric Burke indicated that there had been only eight COVID-19 cases within the district - none of which have been traced to athletic practice or competition. Still, with ominous statistics all around, Kraemer made a point of addressing the topic on Tuesday.
"We have an outbreak of COVID-19 in our community. It's an issue that we're dealing with right now," he said. "We talked about the trust that we need in each other to make sure that we're safe, that we're healthy and that we're doing what we need to do to continue to play. If we don't take this opportunity to ride the wave and figure out how we can remain safe during this time, then we won't be able to play."
So far, Kraemer said the team has been able to mitigate the risks as much as possible, between masking, social distancing, face shields on helmets and increased sanitation efforts. He credited Burke and the district's pandemic response team for their efforts in reducing the spread of the virus, while also putting responsibility on his players to do their part.
"The biggest thing we control is making sure we stay home if we're sick," he said. "That's the thing I've tried to work into our players. You're not going to be yelled at for staying home. If you stay home and you are legitimately sick, you should stay home. Stay away, get tested. If you're not COVID positive, come back and we can roll from there. But our kids need to be honest with each other and honest with me so that we can trust that we're staying safe.
"We've taken our mentality and our vision for what it looks like to be safe from our district. That's all credit to Mr. Burke, all credit to our district pandemic team, the doctors and nurses that are working and then everybody in the school building. Everyone's kind of rallied behind trying to keep ourselves safe and trying to stay in school because we understand how important it is for kids to be here."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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