September 20, 2020 at 3:45 p.m.
Team preview: RHS football
Hodags eager to prove great 2019 season was no flash in the pan
Team preview: RHS football
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the question for much of the offseason was would the Hodags have a chance for an encore performance this fall. With that question settled through decisions by the WIAA, the Great Northern Conference and Rhinelander High School to move forward with the fall sports season, the question now is what can the Hodags do for an encore this season.
"We just want to keep it going and show everybody that this is a program that's turning around and the culture's turning around," second-year Hodag head coach Aaron Kraemer said. "It's not necessarily the talent we have, but the culture that we're building toward."
Those questions will begin to get answered Friday night when Antigo and Rhinelander meet to open the season with the 86th playing of the Bell Game at Schofield Stadium in Antigo.
Expectations are high for the Hodags, who are predicted to finish third in the GNC by WisSports.net, but whether the Hodags can live up to those expectations will likely boil down to whether the team can effectively replace their biggest playmakers on both sides of the ball from a season ago.
Offensively, that means Drake Martin, who amassed more than 3,500 rushing yards during his RHS career. Now off to UW-Whitewater, the Hodags have a number of younger players eager to fill the void.
Two of the most likely candidates are juniors Cayden Neri and Caleb Olcikas. The two had only 18 varsity carries between them last year, while primarily playing in the backfield on the Hodag JV squad. Olcikas did have one shining moment on varsity last year, however, an 85-yard kick return for a touchdown in the Hodags' 20-10 Bell Game victory over Antigo.
The two will join senior fullback Walker Hartman (61 carries, 395 yards, 2 touchdowns), who is the lone holdover from last year's backfield.
"Caleb Olcikas, pound-for-pound, I think is one of the fastest and strongest running backs in our league," Kraemer said. "I think, for him and for Cayden, this is going to be an eye-catching season. I want to give then the opportunities to do that."
Also expect more out of senior quarterback, and Dave Krieg watchlist honoree, Quinn Lamers. Lamers threw for 802 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions last year. Rhinelander has changed the base formation of its offense from the I to a pistol shotgun this year in part to give Lamers an opportunity to make more plays with his arm, and his legs.
"We're going to give Quinn a chance to see so he can throw the ball a little bit," Kraemer said. "We want to give him the opportunity to see because we know he's football-smart and can make good decisions. You can already see that Quinn, as a passer, his vision has improved since last year. That's 100% a credit to him. He's put the time in, in the offseason, not only in the weight room and in speed training but in the lab as well.
"Quinn did run a 4.7 40 and he can scoot pretty quick, so you might see a little bit of keeping the ball in his hands a little bit this year too and giving us an extra dynamic this year."
Make no mistake, even though the Hodags will operate out of the pistol this year, Kraemer said they will still be a run-first outfit, and for good reason. Four of the five linemen responsible for the Hodags becoming the third-ranked rushing offense in the GNC return, anchored by seniors Ben Sinclair and Alex Olson at the guard positions. Sinclair is on the preseason watchlist for the Joe Thomas Award, given to the state's top offensive lineman while Olson was a key figure in the Hodag run game last year. The team's rushing yards per game dipped 77 yards per game following last year's Week 6 Bell Game win in which Olson sustained a season-ending arm injury. The problems were amplified when Martin sprained his ankle a week later in a one-point loss at Mosinee.
Tackles Kirk Mathews and Joe Fugle are also back.
"We're probably at the best depth we've ever been on the offensive and defensive line, with the starters coming back, but we also have several guys that played last year and have experience," Kraemer said.
The lone loss up front was that of all-conference center Trevor Knapp. Kraemer said junior Caleb Shefveland and sophomore Connor Jensen have been battling for the position throughout preseason camp.
Senior Travis Towne (4 rec., 46 yards) moves inside to tight end to replace the graduated Connor Lund. Rhinelander brings back leading receiver Jackson Labs (12 rec., 185 yards, 1 TD) from a season ago.
The holes are greater on the defensive side of the ball, where the Hodags ranked second in the GNC in yards allowed and fourth in points allowed. Rhinelander must replace eight starters on that side of the ball, highlighted by first-team All-GNC selection Peyton Erikson at strong safety, who was second on the team last year with 58 tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks.
"It's going to be a big hole to fill," Kraemer said. "Caleb and Cayden and Kaleb Winter are three guys that have been stepping up in that position. Aric Beske, I'm excited about his upside."
The good news is the three starters Rhinelander return on the defensive side of the ball all made a significant impact last season. Hartman, as a middle linebacker, was the team's leading tackler with 59 stops including nine TFLs. Sinclair, also on the preseason watchlist for the Tim Krumrie Award as for state's top defensive lineman, had a team high 4 1/2 sacks last year while free safety Jacques Tulowitzky was third on the team with 40 tackles and also recorded an interception.
"Defensively, I look at Walker Hartman, Ben Sinclair, that's the spine of our defense coming back right here, along with Jacques Tulowitzky - three seniors right down the center of our field that will allow us to make adjustments as needed," Kraemer said. "All three of them are vocal leaders. They're able to talk and get their guys going."
Kraemer said to expect Brock Snyder, Eugene Voss and Mandela Anderson to be in the rotation with Sinclair on the defensive line. Towne and Tyler Olson will feature at outside linebackers while junior Chad Hunt will join Hartman in the middle of the defense. Lamers and Arik Beske are in the mix to take over at cornerback, where the Hodags lost a pair of senior starters in Payton Johnson and Max Spaulding.
The Hodags also have to replace Martin and Erikson on special teams. Martin was Rhinelander's punter and place kicker last year. The battle for punter has yet to be determined while Kraemer said Hugh Wiese from the Hodag boys' soccer team will likely handle the place kicking duties. It had not been established as of press time for this edition, who would take Erikson's role as the primary kick and punt returner.
As for the Great Northern Conference, Kraemer expects Medford and Mosinee to be the top competition once again this season. Merrill, which upset Rhinelander in overtime on homecoming night last year, figures to be improved.
Antigo will be eager to avenge its Bell Game loss, which in part caused the Red Robins to miss the WIAA playoffs last year for the first time since 2007.
"I have no doubt in my mind, and neither do our players, that we're going to be a formidable challenge for every team inside this conference," Kraemer said. "We should be challenging for the top of the conference if all goes the way we have planned.
"Every single team in our conference presents a different challenge. They run different offenses. They have different key players. Some teams match up against us very well. Every challenge is going to be different and our guys are going to have to take that challenge, understand the challenge and really just continue to grow throughout the year in order to get to the point where we will have that chance for a culminating event."
What that culminating event entails remains to be seen. There will still be two game dates available following the Hodags' regular season finale at home against Medford Nov. 6. If or how those games will be assigned has yet to be determined by the WIAA.
Yet Kraemer sees no better culminating event than a matchup against the defending conference champs in the final week of the regular season, with perhaps a conference title in the balance.
"Our guys talk about beating Medford," Kraemer said. "That's the one thing they wanted to focus on this year, which I'm really happy is the last game of the season because we can starting building toward that and beating the other teams along the way is really going to build our confidence and allow us to really prepare for that game."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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