September 13, 2021 at 8:53 a.m.
Taking care of business
Hodags blow out Hayward, turn attention to showdown at Medford
Taking care of business
The Hodags were business-like, dismantling winless Hayward 41-0 at Mike Webster Stadium, to move to 4-0 for the third straight year.
Cayden Neri set career high for the third straight week - running for 289 yards and three scores. The Hodags racked up 508 yards of offense and can now turn their attention to a rematch of last year's GNC championship game, won by the Raiders.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way we played and handled the situation tonight," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "We did a great job. Our players did what they're expected to do. We're really, really proud of the way that we played and that we did what we needed to do to prepare for next week."
Neri shouldered the load early for the RHS. He had all six touches on Rhinelander's opening drive, capped off by a 17-yard touchdown run. The senior broke through again from five yards out to give Rhinelander a 14-0 lead with 2:53 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Hodags opened up the playbook a bit in the second quarter. Jacksen Smith found a wide open Caleb Olcikas for a seven-yard score and later delivered a strike under pressure from 11 yards to tight end Brock Snyder to give Rhinelander a 28-0 edge at the break.
After a Hayward three-and-out to start the second, Rhinelander did not need long to invoke the 35-point running clock rule. The Hodags drove 78 yards on just five plays, capped off by an Olcikas two-yard run. Jaden Beske intercepted Hayward's Chase Briggs on the next snap, and Neri punched it in from 11 yards out five plays later on his 28th and final carry of the night.
Rhinelander's offense has dominated through four weeks, averaging 38.8 points per game. The Hodags topped their 438 yards on the ground in a 32-7 win over Lakeland in Week 3 by rushing for 446 on Friday.
Neri has rushed for 790 yards over the last three weeks, going over 200 yards in all three contests.
"There are some years we haven't rushed for over 800 yards in a season, so I'm very thankful for the two backs that play and the offensive line has been solid," Kraemer said.
Neri also added one catch for 17 yards Friday night, giving him 308 yards from scrimmage on the evening. Olcikas added 104 yards on 11 carries for Rhinelander.
Smith was 6 of 11 passing for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
Dominant defense
The Hodags were stout on the defensive side of the ball, too, holding the Hurricanes to 70 yards of offense and only five first downs.
Rhinelander made life tough on Briggs most of the night. The Hodags sacked him three-times, including a strip sack in the by Carter Krueger in the fourth quarter that was recovered by Chad Hunt.
Twin brothers Arik and Jaden Beske each got an interception off Briggs as the Hodags generated three turnovers, after recording only one in their previous two games.
"Last week we were disappointed with the fact that we didn't get any takeaways," Kraemer said. "Coach (Gary) Zarda was working on it this week. We have a turnover grid that we do and we're proud of taking the football away. We did that tonight. We did exactly what we needed to do."
Hayward threatened on only a couple of occasions, driving to the Rhinelander 35 in the second quarter before Briggs put up a jump ball to Nhzoo Sullivan that Arik Beske picked off at the 10. Neri fumbled three plays later, giving Hayward the ball at the Rhinelander 31, but the Hurricanes went four-and-out on the ensuing drive, with a fourth-and-13 pass for Tanner Poppe broken up inside the 10.
Rhinelander tried an onside kick to start the second half, which Hayward recovered and returned to the Hodag 34, but the drive went nowhere and the Hurricanes were forced to punt after Briggs was dropped for an 11-yard sack by Neri on third and long.
Neri sacked Briggs twice in the game.
Line game
Rhinelander's offensive line did not miss a beat Friday night, despite missing starting right guard Tyler Morrison who was out with an ankle injury. Junior Michael Unverzagt filled in and the line continued to pave the way for Neri and Olcikas.
"Michael Unverzagt coming in for Tyler Morrison, he did a great job this week," Kraemer said. "I can't look any further than Joe Fugle. Joe, this week, took Michael under his wing and he literally was pointing out, telling him where he needed to be. He did everything for him this week and that just lets Michael go and play. Conner (Jensen), playing next to him on the other side is helping him as well. They've done a nice job."
Put it on tape
After running almost exclusively out of a straight I formation against Lakeland, and in the first quarter on Friday, the Hodags began to open up the playbook. Rhinelander used a couple of different formations, even incorporating the pistol back into the mix. The Hodags also went into the bag of tricks, on a double reverse that featured two backward laterals and resulted in an eight-yard gain for Smith.
It's just that much more that Medford will have to prepare for this week when they put on the film of Friday's game.
"There's some things we've been working on the last couple weeks that we haven't gotten to. We're excited about, offensively, what we can bring to them," Kraemer said.
Medford ahead
The Raiders moved to 2-0 in the GNC with a 45-20 win on the road at Lakeland that saw senior Aiden Gardner rush for a school-record 352 yards. But the Thunderbirds made it interesting, down 24-20 midway through the third quarter before the Raiders pulled away.
Medford downed Rhinelander 24-7 last November for the GNC title. Medford was picked to win the GNC this year by the conference's media, while Rhinelander was tabbed as the preseason conference favorite by WisSports.net.
"We know what they are. They know what we are," Kraemer said. "They played us here last year for a conference championship. We get an opportunity to go down there and play the best football that we can."
Rhinelander has not defeated Medford since 2010, when it won at Raider Field on 16-14 on Medford's homecoming night.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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