September 3, 2021 at 10:26 p.m.
AXE-CLAMATION POINT!
Rhinelander steamrolls Lakeland 32-7 in Northwoods Axe Game
AXE-CLAMATION POINT!
Rhinelander racked up 438 yards - the equivalent of one circuit around the stadium's track - on the ground Friday night and dominated Lakeland 32-7 in the Northwoods Axe game.
Cayden Neri rushed for a career-high 278 yards and Caleb Olcikas added 156 yards and three scores as the Hodags turned to their two stud senior running backs to shoulder the workload for the second straight week.
Snap after snap, drive after drive, Rhinelander imposed its will on Lakeland - a message coach Aaron Kraemer said the team wanted to deliver to its Oneida County rivals after the T-Birds outplayed the Hodags in the scrimmage and were vocal in celebrating their success.
"It was a statement game for us," he said. "We felt a little bit slighted by the way the scrimmage went. We felt like they were celebrating on our field and we had a little bit to prove after the scrimmage. I was pretty ornery about the way that it all happened. I was upset about the way that we played in the scrimmage and I wanted to make a statement. We did just that."
Olcikas gave the Hodags the lead for good on a 56-yard run with 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Rhinelander dominated the rest of the way. The Hodags ran 53 plays to Lakeland's 32 and held a nearly 2-to-1 edge in time of possession.
"We knew a lot of people were coming, so we wanted to make a statement," Olcikas said. "When you have slippery wet Neri and dad Olcikas in the open field with the linemen blocking, it's pretty hard to stop. It's going to be a good season."
Olcikas added another score from five yards out with 44 seconds left in the second to give Rhinelander a 19-7 halftime lead. After Lakeland (1-2, 0-1 Great Northern) went 3-and-out on the opening possession of the second half, the Hodags took the wind out of the T-Birds' sails with a soul-crushing 13-play, 81-yard drive that resulted in in Olcikas' third score of the night with 2:59 remaining in the third.
Neri busted off a 55-yard run in the fourth that set him up for the game's final score from eight yards out one play later.
All parties involved were quick to give credit to the starting offensive line - Caleb Shefveland, Owen Kurtz, Conner Jensen, Tyler Morrison, Joe Fugle and tight end Brock Snyder - for one of most prolific rushing nights in RHS history.
"Cayden and Caleb are special players, and so are our receivers, and so is our quarterback, but it's our offensive line that's the heart and soul of what we do," Kraemer said. "They opened holes all night long. They finished their blocks to the whistle."
"The line's working pretty good," Olcikas said. "They communicate well. As you can see, they were pretty good. Next game's going to be even better. The boys are heinous up front. They boys work downstairs. They're beasts."
Jensen was not afraid to pat his linemates on the back, either.
"We'll take 98% of the credit for the 440 yards. It's nice having the two best running backs in the conference, but it was a great performance all around," he said.
Rhinelander set the tone early, taking the opening drive 55 yards on 11 plays before Neri punched it in from a yard out.
Lakeland, a typically pass-happy offense, gave Rhinelander a taste of its own medicine. The T-Birds answered with a five-play scoring drive that included two long runs by Rocky Wagoner in which he reversed direction in the backfield and found room on the back side of the play. His 20-yard score made it 7-7 with 1:45 remaining in the first.
It was all Rhinelander after that. Lakeland's Brayden Wiczek finished 6 of 14 through the air for 34 yards. Three of those completions went for negative yards as the Hodags extinguished the wide receiver screen game that Lakeland used effectively during the scrimmage.
"We watched the practice film of that scrimmage and said there's an adjustment we have to make," Kraemer said. "Coach (Gary Zarda) made the adjustment and we've been solid against the spread since.
"Defensively, we did everything we needed to do after that first drive to shut them out."
The Hodags attempted only two pass plays all night, targeting Neri on screens both times. Facing fourth-and-14 from the Lakeland 44 late in the second quarter, quarterback Jacksen Smith dumped it off to Neri who spun through contact at the 35 and lunged forward to pick up the first down by the length of a football.
Of Rhinelander's 53 offensive plays, 47 went to Neri or Olcikas. Smith rushed twice in the game, backup H-back Cole Lehman got two touches late in the fourth quarter and the Hodags kneeled on the final two snaps of the contest.
"We have two of the best running backs in conference on one team. That's super useful," Neri said.
Friday's game was the seventh playing for the Northwoods Axe, a trophy trade series started in 2015. The Hodags have won the last three installments to go one up in the series.
"All I've got to say is we've got the series lead," Fugle said.
As has been tradition the last three years, the Hodags toured the the Axe around Mike Webster Stadium, pretending to chop down both goal posts.
"It's the elation of seeing these guys' hard work, and it chokes me up, come forward and they deserve every bit of this," Kraemer said.
Friday's win marked the third straight year Rhinelander has started 3-0. They will have a chance to make it 4-0 this coming Friday as Hayward comes to town. The Hurricanes (0-3, 0-1 Great Northern) were blown out at home by Mosinee, 47-7, in Week 3.
"We have to make sure we take care of our business," Kraemer said. "Hayward is going to produce another challenge for us. They've got to come a long distance. We've got to take care of business, make sure we're healthy and make sure we're ready to go."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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