September 9, 2020 at 12:04 p.m.
RHS football back on the gridiron
RHS football back on the gridiron
The start of the season came five weeks later than normal, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was weather to match with the mercury plateauing around 50 degrees for the three-hour after school session at Mike Webster Stadium. Even what the Hodags did on day one looked a little different, but Kraemer said there's no place he'd rather be.
"We've been waiting a long time to have the opportunity to get back out here," he said. "I'm really excited about this group. I'm really excited about where we left off from last season, where we've grown during the offseason and where we are now."
The Hodags have plenty to be excited about after going 6-4 last season and posting the school's first winning campaign since 1994. Rhinelander also made it to the WIAA playoffs for only the third time in program history and returned Gene Shepard's Bell to the Hodag city for the first time since 2006 with a win over rival Antigo.
The Bell Game rematch at Antigo is right around the corner for the Hodags. Due to the delayed start of the season, the Sept. 25 game went from Rhinelander's Week 5 contest to the season opener. The timing of Rhinelander's first game will still be 17 days from the first practice, just like a normal season, but the stakes in this year's opener are significantly higher.
"We don't have those first couple of games where we can kind of work our way into the season," Kraemer said. "We play against Lakeland in the scrimmage and (Northland Pines), teams that are going to challenge us. Then we're going to go play Antigo for a lot of bragging rights."
The majority of Rhinelander's first practice was spent on instruction and individual drills and ended with a roughly 20-minute, non-contact, 11-on-11 session at the end of practice. Full contact is not permitted during the first week of practice, due to WIAA acclimatization protocols. Even if it was, the Hodags would not have donned the pads and started hitting because of where the district is in its phased approach to sports in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're really emphasizing the things we can - tackling, blocking, speed, strength," Kraemer said. "Those are the things we know we can really focus on and do the little things right. I preach it every single year, we do the little things. We're going to be the best at the little things."
Helmets were the only football equipment the players wore on Tuesday, but even those looked a little different with face shields installed on each helmet. The thin, plastic shields cover the inside of the facemask. Kraemer said there were some issues with the masks fogging up as well as durability concerns during the first practice, but it's something the team will have to learn to live with.
"I think it's a temporary solution to an issue that's going to be here longer than we had (hoped)," he said, noting that he's encouraging players to look into visors that can be worn in tandem with the lower half of the shield. "I love the investment by our program and by our school district, keeping us safe. We're going to do the best we can to make sure those work for us as long as they possibly can ... It's a hinderance, but E plus R equals O. We're going to have to deal with it and do the best we can."
As far as Xs and Os are concerned, Kraemer said the team's offense is ahead of its defense entering the season. That stands to reason, considering the team lost only three offensive starters to graduation, but eight on the defensive side of the ball. Getting the defense up to speed will be a point of emphasis early on in practice.
"It helps us that, offensively, we have eight returning starters and today they picked it up right where we left off. They were very sharp," Kraemer said.
"Defensively, we've got some big holes to fill," Kraemer added. "We're going to have to put the training wheels on. (Defensive coordinator Gary Zarda) talked about it being training wheel Tuesday today. We put training wheels on for a couples days and we'll figure out where people are going to fit."
The Hodags travel to Lakeland next Friday night for a three-team scrimmage.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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