October 12, 2020 at 8:01 a.m.
Bluejays Blasted
No. 6 Rhinelander routs short-handed Merrill, improves to 3-0
Bluejays Blasted
The sixth-ranked Hodags emphatically checked both items off their list.
Cayden Neri rushed for four touchdowns, Quinn Lamers added a pair of scores through the air and the Hodags routed an injury-plagued Merrill squad 42-8 at Jay Stadium.
Neri broke free for a 59-yard score on the game's second play from scrimmage and Rhinelander (3-0) never looked back. The Hodags built a 21-0 lead after a quarter and led 35-0 at halftime before turning the game over to the reserves following the first offensive series of the second half.
"Something that we haven't done is play four quarters and I think we played three of the best quarters we could and then, that last quarter, with our young guys getting in and being able to play, I was very proud of the way we performed tonight," Rhinelander coach Aaron Kraemer said. "That goes from our varsity starters and our seniors all the way down to our sophomores and our young JV guys. Everybody played a role tonight and it was great team victory."
Merrill (1-2) was a different team than the one that upset Rhinelander in overtime last season, mainly because the two primary offensive threats in that game - quarterback Caleb DeJong and fullback Eddie Collinsworth - were both sidelined Friday night due to injury.
Rhinelander's defense feasted on the depleted Merrill offense. The Bluejays amassed only six first downs in the first half, and committed a pair of turnovers.
"Both of those guys are unbelievable competitors," Kraemer said of DeJong and Collinsworth, who combined to score all four touchdowns in Merrill's 27-21 win last year in Rhinelander. "You saw it last year. They took advantage of us last year. They took advantage of the way we tackled and the way that we finished. They took it to us and I was looking forward to our guys having an opportunity to get a little bit of redemption against those two today. It didn't happen. Obviously, you've got to take care of your kids if they're injured and putting their needs first. My heart goes out to them. It's never easy to sit out, but in your senior year in a strange season, it's even more of a heartbreaker. I hope they recover quickly and I hope that they get a chance to play the rest of the season with their teammates."
Rhinelander steamrolled through the opening quarter, beginning with Neri's 59-yard jaunt on the first drive. The Hodag defense forced Merrill three-and-out on its first two possessions and the offense took advantage, starting in Bluejay territory both times. Neri scored on a five-yard run with 3:57 left to go in the opening quarter and, following a 39-yard punt return by Caleb Olcikas down to the Merrill 8, scored again to put Rhinelander ahead three scores.
Lamers and the Hodag passing game took over on Rhinelander's next two possessions. On both occasions, Lamers found big-play receiver Jackson Labs for 50-plus yard completions to get into Merrill territory. The drives finished with a 25-yard touchdown pass at Jacques Tulowitzky and a 7-yard strike to Labs as Rhinelander took a 35-0 lead at halftime.
Lamers finished the night 5 of 10 through the air for 171 yards, with almost all of his attempts going deep down the field. Labs caught three passes for 113 yards - his second straight game with more than 100 yards receiving.
"It gives our offense multiple dimensions," Kraemer said. "It makes us two-dimensional and allows us to play the way we want to play, which is run the football strong and take shots down the field, and stretch teams vertically and horizontally. Spread teams can do it by alignment and we do it by our play selection and our players."
Neri capped off a 136-yard rushing performance with a 37-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter. Neri, a junior, has rushed for at least 120 yards in each of the Hodags' first three games this season.
Merrill junior quarterback Cayden Diels was 8 of 15 through the air for 155 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his second start in place of the injured DeJong. He hit Bailey Turenne four times for 109 yards and found Alex Mann for a 26-yard score in the fourth quarter against Rhinelander's reserves defensively. Diels added 42 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Bluejay blowout
Friday's game marked Rhinelander's first win over Merrill since 2012, and the largest margin of victory for Rhinelander in a conference game since joining the Great Northern Conference in 2010.
"It feels good to be involved in a game like that once in a while," Kraemer said. "Not that we expect to be in a game like that all the time, but we certainly had our fair share of close ones last year, and this year the first two games. To give our kids the opportunity to have that type of experience and to stand up when we needed to, that says a lot about our team."
Fourth-down fanatics
Through three games this season, the Hodags are developing a knack for rising to the occasion on fourth down. The Hodags went 6 for 6 on fourth down offensively Friday night, including both of Lamers' second-quarter touchdown passes. Merrill was held to 1 of 3 on fourth down. Through three games, opposing teams are a paltry 4 of 11 on fourth down against the Hodag defense.
"Fourth down is a chance to make a memory. It's a chance to make a play that changes the game, chance to make a play that changes a drive," Kraemer said. "Defensively, it's a chance that could make or break down in the red zone. We use those as our chances to respond positively and get the best outcome."
Staying grounded
Rhinelander is off to its second 3-0 start in as many seasons after not starting 3-0 or better in a season from 1975-2018. Rhinelander also checked in at No. 6 in last week's WisSports.net Division 3 coached poll. Upon seeing that news on Twitter, Kraemer's response was simply "#PROVEIT."
Rhinelander remained tied with No. 3 Medford, which rolled Mosinee 48-8 on Friday, a top the GNC standings. The two teams are set to play the final week of the regular season, but Kraemer said there's a lot of football to play in the interim.
"3-0, that's all great. We were 3-0 last year too, and we had the opportunity to continue on our winning streaks, 4-0, 5-0 and we just didn't," he said. "We need to make sure we understand where we're going and how we can get there. That's finishing the job the next three weeks and giving us a chance to take it to Medford at the end of the year."
Up next
Merrill heads on the road to face Medford this coming Friday while Rhinelander hosts an Ashland team that sits a surprising 2-1 on the season following back-to-back blowout wins over Hayward and Lakeland. The Oredockers feasted on a buffet of Lakeland first half turnovers on Friday en route to a 46-8 win over the Thunderbirds.
"Ashland's always a tough team," Kraemer said. "Coach (Travis) Larson has an excellent group of kids up there. He's got a great coaching staff. They're always well-prepared. They're always tough, just like this Merrill team. If they have all their guys, they're going to be a formidable team."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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