October 25, 2021 at 2:57 p.m.
Hodags denied by Baraboo on last-minute stop
Hodags denied by Baraboo on last-minute stop
Jacksen Smith overshot Arik Beske on a fourth-down play with less than a minute remaining as the Hodags fell to Baraboo 13-7 in a WIAA Level 1 game in Baraboo. It was a heartbreaking ending to Rhinelander's first eight-win regular season since 1989.
"These guys, they did every thing they could tonight to win a football game tonight and just came up short," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said.
Literally a few inches here or there separated Rhinelander from victory, especially during what proved to be Baraboo's game-winning drive to start the third quarter.
On second and 7 from the Hodag 20, Baraboo quarterback Luna Larson threw a pass for the end zone. Rhinelander's Arik Beske undercut the route and was in position for an interception, but the ball bounced off his hands and was caught by Brady Henry on the deflection for a touchdown.
"They threw a deep pass and, ultimately, the ball bounced the wrong way," Kraemer said. "That's football. There's never one person at fault. There's never one thing at fault. It was just a few bad things that happened to us."
The Hodags thought they had Baraboo stopped earlier on that drive, but a late whistle, and a later flag, gave the Thunderbirds new life. On fourth-and-1 from the Baraboo 48, Rhinelander appeared to have Larson's forward progress stopped short of the line to gain, but Larson fumbled the ball forward and out of bounds ahead of the down marker and Rhinelander was called for a facemask penalty at the end of the play.
"It would have been a first down anyway (because of where the fumble rolled out of bounds) but, at the same time, I saw a facemask, but I didn't see a personal foul," Kraemer said. "That was what we disagreed with on the sideline, the ref and I."
Rhinelander had only three second-half possessions. After punting on their first two drives, Rhinelander got the ball back at its own 26 with 7:21 remaining and marched on a 16-play drive down the field. The Hodags faced fourth-and-7 from their own 43 on the drive and lined up in punt formation, but Caleb Olcikas took a direct snap and completed a jump pass to Smith for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. Smith kept it himself for 14 yards on the next play and later found Arik Beske for a 21-yard completion on fourth-and-17 from the 32.
That gave Rhinelander first and 10 from the 12. Cayden Neri carried for three yards on first down, but then lost them on second down on a slow-developing play after a bobbled snap. Another short gain by Neri set up fourth down.
Smith bobbled the snap on fourth down and scrambled to his right toward the boundary. He tried to throw against the grain to Beske in the back of the end zone, but the pass sailed high and Baraboo was able to kneel three times to run out the clock.
"We had a play called on the last play, which I think would have been a touchdown, we just had a bobbled snap. It is what it is," Kraemer said. "We put ourselves in position all night and it's kind of our story. We just made one or two bad mistakes, and missed one or two blocks that, down the stretch, hurt us."
Kraemer, who also calls the offensive plays for the Hodags, tried to play back the red zone sequence in his mind afterward.
"I'm upset that I didn't take four straight shots at the end zone, but when you have (Neri) in the backfield, you need to give him the football," he said.
Neri finished with 131 hard-earned yards on 31 carries on the night. Baraboo's blitzing defense kept him in check most of the night.
After the teams traded three and outs to start the game, Baraboo went 64 yards on eight plays, capped off by a three-yard run by Riley Weyh. It was just the second first-half touchdown allowed by Rhinelander all season, and it came with starting inside linebacker Chad Hunt on the bench as he sat for the quarter for what the team described as a "personal situation."
Rhinelander answered Baraboo's touchdown drive with one of his own. Neri broke off a 49-yard run to get the Hodags into the red zone and Olcikas scored from six yards out five plays later to tie the game at 7 moments into the second quarter.
"They took the lead in the first quarter, we had a senior out, so we had to bounce back from that," Kraemer said. "In the second quarter, we shored up the defense, got a score and put ourselves right back into it."
Rhinelander, making its third straight playoff appearance and fifth overall in school history, fell to 2-4 in postseason play. Baraboo in its 10th playoff trip, moved to 4-9 and will face top-seeded Mosinee this Friday.
The Hodags finished 8-2 and this year's senior class finished with a 22-7 record over the last three seasons, but that was of little consolation for the team afterward.
"It feels like a bad nightmare right now," Kraemer said. "I thought we were going to get another opportunity to play against Mosinee next week but, like I said, football is football and that's why we love it. We love the nail-biters. We love the close games and we love the competition. This is a memory I'll take with me, all positives of this memory and the end result, hopefully that will motivate our young guys moving forward."
Milestone night
Neri's 49-yard run late in the first quarter put him over 2,000 yards from scrimmage on the season. He entered the night sixth in the state in rushing and wound up at 1,822 rushing yards on the season. He also caught three passes for 22 yards to give him 2,121 yards from scrimmage in 10 games.
Large Larson
Rhinelander held Larson, Baraboo's dynamic two-way player, to 94 rushing yards on 18 carries. It was the first time this season that Larson - who missed two games and was limited in two others due to injury - was held under 100 yards on the ground while playing the whole game.
But Larson was also able to find success through the air, completing 11 of 15 passes for 135 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Caden Agnew finished with second catches for 91 yards.
Money downs
Both teams were 2 of 13 on third down, but Baraboo had more success on fourth down, going 5 of 7. Rhinelander was 2 of 3 on fourth down, with all of its fourth-down attempts coming on the final drive.
Still slighted
Despite the outcome, Kraemer continued to express frustration that an 8-1 Hodag team had to travel for the WIAA tournament. Rhinelander was only one of three 8-1 teams statewide that had to travel for Level 1.
Meanwhile, Baraboo was the only Badger Small Conference team to get a win in Level 1. The rest of the conference went 0-4 Friday night, including conference champion Mt. Horeb/Barneveld, which fell 28-21 to seventh-seeded Onalaska.
Rhinelander was put in the toughest of the four Division 3 groupings, based on overall winning percentage. Computerized rankings, used by the WIAA for the first time this season, gave Rhinelander the fifth-seed once the regional grouping was determined.
"I'm still pissed at the WIAA that we're a 5-seed and we had to play on the road against a strong Baraboo team," Kraemer said. "They're a classy team and they're very, very good. I'm still pissed off at that and I want answers. I just don't get it, but our kids responded to that and they rode the wave this week."
Despite the loss, Kraemer said Friday's result proved that it can hang with more-respected programs in the southern part of the state.
"We played a good Baraboo team and, at the end of the day, nine yards is what separates us and a couple of bad bounces here and there on different plays," Kraemer said. "That's what separates us from a team that plays in the Badger (North) Conference, in an area that is very good at football.
"Anybody that thinks teams north of Highway 8 can't play football against these teams in the south, they're wrong. We played as good of a game as we possibly could have and I think we could have, and probably should have, won that game given a few more bounces our way."
Lasting legacy
Despite the final outcome, Kraemer said his this year's senior class left a legacy and an example for future classes.
"They leave a legacy of hard work," he said. "They leave a legacy, many of them, of weight room culture. I want a track championship with these guys yet and I look forward to that. They're just a group of young men that care about each other. Hopefully our sophomore and juniors start to figure that out. That's what it takes, just simply believing and caring about each other and living that way, constantly.
"We've had successes we can build upon. I don't see a reason why we have to take a step back, other than the fact that we have to have the attitude constantly from these kids. As long as they realize it's not the talent that got this group here, it's their hard work, determination and how much they love each other that got them here, then we'll be alright."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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