October 7, 2021 at 8:03 a.m.
Pigskin preview Week 8: Merrill at Rhinelander
After tough loss, Hodags look to respond at home against Merrill
Pigskin preview Week 8: Merrill at Rhinelander
However, the way coach Aaron Kramer sees it, if this year's Hodags show the same resolve last year's team did in bouncing back from their lone loss, the setback might just provide a valuable lesson.
The story of how Rhinelander responds to adversity will begin to be told tonight as the Hodags host Merrill in the final regular season game of the season at Mike Webster Stadium.
There was plenty of soul-searching to be done following last week's loss in which the Hodags committed 10 penalties and never seemed to get on the right foot, offensively.
"I honestly think we need it. I think we need an opportunity to respond. We still have a lot of goals still out there for us, so we're excited for that," Kraemer said. "I told the guys this week we can circle the wagons and defend what's important to us, or we can turn into a circular firing squad and take each other down. How are we going to respond? That's my question about us this week."
Both teams have plenty to play for tonight. Rhinelander needs a win, and likely some help from Medford against Mosinee, to keep its conference title hopes alive. Merrill, at 2-3 in the GNC following a 14-12 win last Saturday against Lakeland, needs to win its final two games to assure playoff eligibility. The Bluejays need to win at least once more to be in the logjam of 3-4 teams vying for the final few spots when the WIAA playoff field is determined next weekend.
In order to bounce back, Rhinelander is going to have to kick its offense - dominant through the first five weeks of the season - out of neutral.
The Hodags have been held to season lows on the ground in back-to-back weeks, including a scant 95 yards rushing last week at Mosinee. Kraemer said the challenge this week will be for Rhinelander's defense to stay strong against a power running game, while the offense looks to get Cayden Neri and Caleb Olcikas back on track, while possibly mixing in a few more wrinkles to keep defenses honest.
"We have to come out and play one solid series of offense first and build on that. That's really what we're focusing on now, one foot in front of the other and trying to right the wrongs moving forward," Kraemer said.
Here are five storylines entering tonight's game.
New players?
Kraemer was not afraid to shake things up at practice this week to help revive a sputtering offense. That included opening up competition for a number of spots on the offensive line. It's possible, by the time things are decided leading up to kickoff, the Hodags could have a different left tackle, right guard and tight end than they had last week. Kraemer said its all in an effort to ensure the team's best five blockers are in the starting line.
"The question I asked (offensive line) coach (Paul) Ellenbecker was who are our best five blockers. I want to know who those best five guys are," Kraemer said. "Two of the five of those best five are not current starting offensive linemen. Those two guys, being AJ Bergman and Brock Snyder, are going to start working in at those offensive line positions and we'll see where the rest falls."
Snyder was a backup offensive lineman last year and Kraemer noted Jacques Tulowitzky and Chad Hunt could possibly split time at tight end if Snyder ends up back on the line. The Hodags also have Tyler Morrison back in the offensive line mix after missing three of the last four weeks due to injury or illness.
New plays?
Whereas Rhinelander was able to find a Plan B offensively in the screen game when Antigo slowed down the running attack, there were no alternatives that worked last week against a fast, flying Mosinee defense.
Kraemer said he will be looking to diversify the playbook a bit, entrusting senior quarterback Jacksen Smith with more responsibility in the passing game, to keep defenses honest and provide another way to attack the opposition. That could be key this week against a Merrill team that gave up two touchdown passes of 40-yards or longer last week against Lakeland.
"That's something Jacksen and I did this week," Kraemer said. "We sat down on Sunday, him and I, and talked through the offense, what the expected coverage was, how to exploit them deep and get them deeper so we can start backing up the middle linebackers and the secondary, which will then help us in the run game."
Spread to run
Merrill's offense has looked a little different this year under first-year head coach Jason Wadzinski. The Bluejays have gone to more spread and pistol looks this season, and even incorporated some of Medford's single-wing offense last week against the T-Birds.
Though the look may be different, Kraemer said Merrill's offense is still predicated on running the football.
The Bluejays rushed 49 times for 227 yards last week against Lakeland. Minus an 80-yard scamper by Brian Ball in the first quarter of that game, their run game averaged only 2.9 yards per carry the rest of the way. But Merrill did enough to wear down Lakeland and took advantage of some key offensive miscues by the T-Birds - including an interception in plus territory and back-to-back intentional grounding penalties that led to a game-deciding safety early in the fourth quarter.
"I have a lot of respect for what they were able to accomplish against Lakeland," Kraemer said. "They obviously saw a weakness in Lakeland's defensive line and defensive front, and they exploited it in the second half. They were patient running the football. They didn't freak out with one- or two-yard gains. They just stayed very patient with it."
Five different players carried the ball at least five times last week, led by Ball. Bailey Turenne, who acted as quarterback in Merrill's pistol look, had 10 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Big up front
Merrill's defense, which works out of a 4-4 front, has been fairly decent against the run, allowing just under 122 yards per game so far. Those averages may be slightly skewed, considering Merrill has already played the three most pass-happy teams in the league -Mosinee, Lakeland and Hayward - and has yet to face Rhinelander or Medford.
Either way, Kraemer said the key this week will begin with taking care of Merrill's defensive tackles Wyatt Bathke and Ryder Depies.
"Our challenge is being able to move the 3-technique and the 1-technique, get them out of there," he said. "Any time you play a four (man) front, that's going to be the challenge. They stack their backers too and their backers come and blitz quite a bit. There's some movement up front that our guys are going to have to get used to, especially the guys who might be filling in at different positions."
Last at home?
Tonight is senior night at Mike Webster Stadium. While it's possible the Hodags may get at least one more home game in the postseason, depending on how the next two weeks shake out, tonight will be about honoring the winningest senior class in the last 50 years of Rhinelander football.
The Class of 2022 has seen the program win 21 games during their four years at RHS. Prior to that, the best four-year run was 19 wins, by both the classes of 1976 and 1977.
"This is a special group of seniors. In they're career, they've maybe - and I don't know what the records are, but they've maybe won more than any other sophomore-to-senior class that's come through," Kraemer said. "They have a lot of respect from me and I want them to go out with a win on their final game at home, final regular season game."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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