September 20, 2021 at 8:43 a.m.
RAIDER WRANGLERS
Hodags outmuscle Medford 28-14 in GNC showdown
RAIDER WRANGLERS
On Friday night, Rhinelander gave Medford a taste of its own medicine.
Cayden Neri and Caleb Olcikas combined to rush for 235 yards, the Hodag defense forced five turnovers and Rhinelander delivered a statement to Medford and the rest of the GNC with a 28-14 win at Raider Field.
Neri scored Rhinelander's first two touchdowns, including a seven-yard fumble return for a score midway through the third quarter, as the Hodags beat Medford for the first time since 2010 and improved to 5-0 overall on the season.
"We just knew coming out it was going to be a physical game and we just had to match their physicality," Hodag middle linebacker Chad Hunt said. "That's what we did. We just fought harder than them."
Up 7-0 at the half, Rhinelander marched down the field on the opening drive of the third quarter, but came up a yard short on fourth and 3 from the Medford 7. Backed against its own goal posts, Medford went nowhere on its first two plays and then tried to call a counter out of the single wing. Nose tackle AJ Bergman got penetration and forced Medford fullback Tukker Schreiner to fumble. Neri scooped up the loose ball at the 7 and raced in to make it 14-0.
"That play is easily the biggest play of the game, the scoop and score," Hodag coach Aaron Kraemer said. "We had driven all the way down there and it's deflating when you get all the way down to the end zone and you can't score. For them to be able to take the ball away, punch it into the end zone and give us points, was big."
"After that I was so excited," said Neri, who also had a strip sack fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. "I knew for sure we had it in the bag. We kept on playing hard after that."
Aiden Gardner, who had rushed for a school-record 352 yards a week earlier at Lakeland, answered with a 10-yard score on Medford's next possession and the Raiders appeared to have momentum early in the fourth after forcing a Rhinelander three-and-out.
But the Hodag defense held, and Cole Worrall picked off Parker Crass on a third-and-long play to give Rhinelander the ball back at the Medford 42. Two plays later, quarterback Jacksen Smith found Brenden Eckrich wide open for a completion down to the 1. Smith snuck it in after that to put Rhinelander up 15 with 7:24 to play.
"Those are plays that change games, back-breaker type plays. That's what it took tonight," Kraemer said.
The Hodags fumbled trying to salt the game away with under three minutes remaining, but Neri's strip sack gave Rhinelander the ball back on the very next play. Olcikas ran it in from 28 yards two plays later and the celebration was on.
Medford made the final score seem a little more respectable as Ty Metz found Caleb Guden for a 43-yard score with 16 seconds to play.
"Medford's known as the best in conference and we just blew out Medford 28-6 basically," Neri said. "We had our backups in last 30 seconds to give them some time, but we just dominated Medford."
Neri unofficially rushed for 141 yards on 29 carries, which put him over 1,000 yards on the ground for the season in only five games. Olcikas added 94 yards on 12 carries for the Hodags.
First on the board
Turnovers and slow starts cost Rhinelander each of the last two years against Medford, but the Hodags were able to withstand Medford's opening salvo better this time.
The Raiders took the opening drive inside the Rhinelander 20 before they were stopped short on a fourth-and-5 run. The teams traded punts after that before Rhinelander went 65 yards on eight plays, capped off by a Neri 20-yard score less than a minute into the second quarter.
"This year, we put ourselves in position in the first half, which allowed us to grind them down and finish them in the end," Kraemer said.
Response plays
The Hodags rose to the occasion in the face of adversity a number of times during the contest. Rhinelander turned the ball over twice, but the defense got it back on the ensuing play both times.
Smith threw an interception that went through Eckrich's hands late in the first half, but Joe Fugle and Worrall combined to strip Gardner after an eight-yard gain and Olcikas recovered the fumble.
Rhinelander faced third and 15 deep in its own territory on the opening drive of the third quarter and converted on a counter play to Olcikas for 28 yards.
Neri's two fumble recoveries came moments after potentially momentum-
changing plays for the Raiders as Rhinelander passed easily its most difficult test to date with flying colors.
"You get opportunities in your life to have your back up against the wall, your back in the corner," Kraemer said. "It's the moments when you have your back against the wall that you have to stand up and you have to fight your way out. There's no other alternative. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win the conference. If that was the goal, there's no other way. It's through Medford ... They fought through Medford all night."
Clogging the works
Medford's vaunted running game amassed only 138 yards on Friday and Gardner was held to 91 yards on 22 carries.
Kraemer said much of the secret to slowing down the Raiders started with the defensive line getting penetration, not allowing Medford's blockers to set up and forcing Gardner away from the point of attack.
"We asked our defensive line, we called it Raider tech all week, and it was basically taking our bodies and throwing them at their legs as much as we could to bubble up the (offensive line), slow up Gardner and make sure he had to make a cut," Kraemer explained. "He's a big back, so it takes him a little bit longer to get up to speed than maybe our guys. Great kid, great player and he deserves a lot of respect, but we did what we needed to do and it was all discipline and all sacrifice from our guys tonight."
The race is on
While Friday night's victory was big for the Hodags, there is still a long way to go in Rhinelander's quest to win its first conference championship since 1989.
The victory kept Rhinelander in a first-place tie in the GNC with Mosinee, which also improved to 3-0 in the conference as it received a forfeit win over Ashland, which was unable to play Friday night due to health and safety protocols. The Hodags will play at Mosinee in two weeks' time.
"Tonight's win is special, but when we finish this off, if we finish it off, it's going to be more special. That's my job the next four weeks," Kraemer said.
Bell Game next
The 87th playing of the Bell Game is up next for Rhinelander as the Hodags are set to host Antigo on homecoming night at Mike Webster Stadium. Rhinelander has won the last two Bell Games, following a 12-year losing streak.
"This is an opportunity to get it for three years," Kraemer said. "We know they're going to be hungry after not being able to play the last couple weeks and it's a rivalry game. Any rivalry game you play, it's always going to be tight. Just like tonight, we knew it was going to be a street fight. Next week we play Antigo, they ground and pound. We're going to do our stuff, it's going to be the same type of game. We've got to continue to play our brand of football and be tougher than they are."
Antigo (1-3) has not played since losing to Merrill 15-12 on Sept. 3. The Red Robins received a forfeit win over Ashland last week but had to forfeit against Lakeland this past Friday due to its own health and safety protocols. Sources from both Rhinelander and Antigo indicated to the River News late last week that the cancellation should not impact this Friday's contest.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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