October 10, 2021 at 6:55 a.m.
Back on track
Hodags shutout Merrill, move to 7-1
Back on track
Cayden Neri had 268 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns, and the Hodag defense was as dominate as ever, in Rhinelander's 42-0 shutout of Merrill at Mike Webster Stadium.
Rhinelander (7-1, 5-1 Great Northern), bounced back from a 14-7 loss at Mosinee that put the team's GNC title hopes in jeopardy, and regrouped as it looks to build its resume to perhaps get a home playoff game.
"This was a feel good win and it puts us back on track," Kraemer said. "This week we circled the wagons, protected what was important for us. It wasn't without drama and it wasn't without people having to sacrifice ego. It wasn't without having people change positions, a lot of different things this week. I'm ver proud of the way they responded."
Rhinelander never let Merrill (2-6, 2-4 Great Northern) gain any traction in its upset bid. The Hodags led by two scores less than 4 1/2 minutes into the contest and scored on six of their 10 possessions.
Rhinelander's offense, held to a season-low output a week prior at Mosinee, got back on track early. After recovering a fumble on the game's second play, the Hodags set up shot at Merrill's 34 and attacked quickly as Jacksen Smith found Arik Beske wide open over the top of the Merrill secondary for a score.
"We thought power pass would be a great play on the first play," Kraemer said, anticipating Merrill would blitz on the Hodags' first play. "It happened to be great. Beske was wide open. He focused. It's hard when the ball's in the air that long and you're wide open. It's hard to focus. Great catch by him."
Rhinelander recovered the ensuing kickoff, which bounced off a Merrill player and Neri scored from 29 yards out six plays later to give the Hodags a quick 14-0 lead.
Following back-to-back turnovers, the Hodags got the offense back in gear late in the second quarter as Smith hit Neri for 15 yards on a screen pass for a score. Neri then scored on a six-yard run on Rhinelander's next drive to give Rhinelander a 28-0 lead at halftime.
Smith found Neri again on a screen pass for a 24-yard score on Rhinelander's first drive of the second half and Neri capped off his night with an 85-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Neri, held under 100 yards rushing each of the last two weeks, finished with 211 yards on 16 carries.
Defense dominates
Merrill's offense never gained any traction, held to 97 total yards and only four first downs as Rhinelander's defense turned in its fourth shutout of the season.
Merrill, which has used several different looks under first year head coach Jason Wadzinski, showed spread early in the game before switching to a Pistol I look in an effort to run the ball. The Bluejays were held to 36 yards on 19 carries.
"Defensively, you got what you paid for when you come to watch Hodag football," Kraemer said. "Coach (Gary) Zarda does an amazing job with these young men. He prepares them for everything. What we saw on film was a Power I with a wing. They switched to it later in the first quarter and when they did, we shut them down."
Bailey Turenne was 7 of 16 passing for 61 yards and an interception. He was also Merrill's leading rushing with 13 yards on nine carries.
Diversified portfolio
Smith finished 9 of 12 through the air for 110 yards with a season-high three touchdowns. After last week's loss at Mosinee, Kraemer said he wanted to get Smith more involved in the passing game, and that was apparent in Rhinelander's play selection on Friday.
"I was really proud of diversity tonight," Kraemer said. "We spread the ball around in multiple facets in the screen game, in the passing game and in the running game. We even spread it out to run a little this week. I was very proud of that. Those are things we put in at the beginning of the season that we brought back this week."
Growing pains
The new offensive wrinkles came with some teething. Smith threw two first-half interceptions and the Hodags had a number of explosive plays called back due to penalty.
Smith misfired to Kaleb Winter on a wheel route late in the first quarter that was picked off at the Merrill 10. The Hodags drove deep in Bluejay territory on the next possession before a pass went off tight end Brock Snyder's hands and was intercepted.
"We had an unfortunate interception down at the goal line on this side and I told Jacksen to throw the wheel, so the one pick's on me and the other one's just a freak accident," Kraemer said. "You throw the football and it hits someone in the hands and it bounces, anything can happen."
Rhinelander was penalized 11 times for 105 yards in the contest, including infractions that wiped off what would have been 34- and 71-yard touchdowns for Neri.
Chasing Mosinee
Rhinelander got no help in its chase for the Great Northern Conference title. Mosinee scored on its first three possessions and never looked back, beating Medford 41-14 in Medford on Friday. The win clinched at least a share of the conference title for Mosinee, while the Hodags sit a game back in the conference with one game remaining.
"Our seniors are still disappointed. We heard about the score at halftime," Kraemer said. "We know we're going to see them in the playoffs and we want to. We'll rectify some demons when we see them again."
Rhinelander, which is seeking its first conference title since 1989, must win this coming Friday at Ashland and get some help from the most unlikely of sources. Antigo, which fell to last in the GNC with a 30-28 loss Thursday at Hayward, would have to upset Mosinee for the Hodags to earn a share of the conference title.
Ashland ahead
The Hodags finish with the Oredockers on the road this coming Friday, who will be fighting for their playoff lives following a 60-40 loss at Lakeland in Week 8. The loss dropped Ashland, which was forced to forfeit two games earlier in the season due to COVID protocol, to 2-4 in the GNC.
Ashland must win to get to 3-4 in the conference and have an outside chance of being one of the sub-.500 teams to fill the WIAA playoff field.
"That's a quality program. Coach Larson does a great job up there. I can't wait to play them to get us going," Kraemer said.
The 100 combined points between Lakeland and Ashland broke a GNC record set in 2016 when Merrill defeated Mosinee, 70-24.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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